All 4 of City's goals came as a result of one of our players misplacing a pass. Can either blame the pitch, sharpness, or lack of concentration, these are little things that need to be ironed out. I felt after that disaster of an experiment we saw in the 1st half, we looked much better and fluid once Guiu and Sterling came on and we played our regular football. This tweaking and obsession with versatility can only work once we actually have a settled system, which we don't. 

Need another ST.

3 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

All 4 of City's goals came as a result of one of our players misplacing a pass. Can either blame the pitch, sharpness, or lack of concentration, these are little things that need to be ironed out. I felt after that disaster of an experiment we saw in the 1st half, we looked much better and fluid once Guiu and Sterling came on and we played our regular football. This tweaking and obsession with versatility can only work once we actually have a settled system, which we don't. 

Need another ST.

Guardiola was asked about the errors made by Chelsea while trying to play out from the back and the City boss stated he thought the surface at Ohio Stadium was the cause, stating the goals would not have occurred at Stamford Bridge.

WE do need another striker- but Jackson would have helped us yesterday had he been available. Marc Guiu had one excellent chance when he came on - maybe Jackson would have scored that?  Enzo the younger had a shot that he really should have scored.  There were some turning points - not realised.

I think we are maybe not as bad as has been suggested.  I think that these pre-season games are character building for this team/squad.  We have some really fine players.

3 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Guardiola was asked about the errors made by Chelsea while trying to play out from the back and the City boss stated he thought the surface at Ohio Stadium was the cause, stating the goals would not have occurred at Stamford Bridge.

WE do need another striker- but Jackson would have helped us yesterday had he been available. Marc Guiu had one excellent chance when he came on - maybe Jackson would have scored that?  Enzo the younger had a shot that he really should have scored.  There were some turning points - not realised.

I think we are maybe not as bad as has been suggested.  I think that these pre-season games are character building for this team/squad.  We have some really fine players.

We are playing a lot of football this season traveling all across Europe as well. Jackson who is at best a #2 striker and an 18 year old new to the Premier League, isn't enough. 

Last night was one of many instances why its an utter waste having Nkunku at ST. 

2 hours ago, Niall1905 said:

Do you honestly think the bloke has got to this point in his life without realising PL forwards are better than championship forwards?

Whether you like it or not, implementing a style of play where we look to confidently play through a press isn’t going to be achieved in 4 pre season games and some training sessions.

Maresca will know full well that we are going to get punished, I think he even said so after the Wrexham game. But no one has ever achieved anything when giving up at the first point of resistance. So when we concede goals at the start of the league campaign because we’ve miss placed a pass, it isn’t going to be because he doesn’t realise that the prem players are good. It’s going to be because he expects our players to learn from the early mistakes they make.

My point is not about whether they are good or whether they are better. My point is playing a style of football with a set of defenders incapable of doing I all well and good but prepared for there being no chance for improvement because we may stand a real chance of being out of games before they start.

Put it another way, do you honestly think that a 25 year old defender like Disasi who has been in the system for 15 years will suddenly learn how to play out with his feet under a press. You cannot do this if it takes three touches just to get the ball under control.

5 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

We are playing a lot of football this season traveling all across Europe as well. Jackson who is at best a #2 striker and an 18 year old new to the Premier League, isn't enough. 

Last night was one of many instances why its an utter waste having Nkunku at ST. 

Yup. Even the American commentator thought Nkunku was wasted upfront.

2 minutes ago, dermott said:

Yup. Even the American commentator thought Nkunku was wasted upfront.

Don't get me wrong, I like Guiu but he has so much of his game that needs tailoring. He's a player I would play solely for League Cup/Conference League/Early FA Cup matches. 

22 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

We are playing a lot of football this season traveling all across Europe as well. Jackson who is at best a #2 striker and an 18 year old new to the Premier League, isn't enough. 

Last night was one of many instances why its an utter waste having Nkunku at ST. 

Yep, i like Nkunku a lot and if he can stay fit this season then that is like a whole new signing for us. i thought at one point that he could play up top on his own - like a Jimmy Flyod Hasslebaink - but he is not that type of player and he cannot do it. I mean yes, he can do it, and he tried, but the whole false no.9 concept is a bit ridiculous.

Yep we need another striker. Remember the days when we had Vialli, Hughes, Zola and Flo. How can you play them all? Doesn't matter, over a season they will all be needed and it makes sense. Makes more sense now - because you are allowed 5 subs.

1 hour ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Yep, i like Nkunku a lot and if he can stay fit this season then that is like a whole new signing for us. i thought at one point that he could play up top on his own - like a Jimmy Flyod Hasslebaink - but he is not that type of player and he cannot do it. I mean yes, he can do it, and he tried, but the whole false no.9 concept is a bit ridiculous.

Yep we need another striker. Remember the days when we had Vialli, Hughes, Zola and Flo. How can you play them all? Doesn't matter, over a season they will all be needed and it makes sense. Makes more sense now - because you are allowed 5 subs.

I would still consider a move for Ivan Toney. His wages might be higher than other options but he is proven in the league and would provide some good experience alongside the youngsters.

Why is it that every time we change manager the players seem to get there brains  wiped as every new manager says the players have to learn how to to do this and that , The players have been in academy's since the age of 7,  and played for other teams around the globe  but for some reason only known to the Manager they have to learn how to break a press  because they have never been taught before  so is he saying the Directors have bought defenders who don't know how to break a press and we are in the sh*t till he teaches them 

2 hours ago, forbzy said:

I would still consider a move for Ivan Toney. His wages might be higher than other options but he is proven in the league and would provide some good experience alongside the youngsters.

What are the odds on signing him?  Seems like a decent player/bloke. Familiar with the league and so not so much of a gamble.  Just not that exciting a signing imho.

19 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

What are the odds on signing him?  Seems like a decent player/bloke. Familiar with the league and so not so much of a gamble.  Just not that exciting a signing imho.

We were linked towards end of last season but it has gone quiet recently. With his contract running down he will be available at a reduced price though.

35 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

What are the odds on signing him?  Seems like a decent player/bloke. Familiar with the league and so not so much of a gamble.  Just not that exciting a signing imho.

What are the odds on signing him ?

Ask Toney himself, he's the betting man!

55 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

What are the odds on signing him?  Seems like a decent player/bloke. Familiar with the league and so not so much of a gamble.  Just not that exciting a signing imho.

I suspect that he may view it in a similar light. A sideways move currently. 

12 hours ago, cfr95 said:

We scored 4 against them in one game last season, playing through their press wasn't a problem. Not only that, none of their goals came from us giving it away right in front of our goal.

I feel like people assess things in a vacuum too much. We went toe to toe with City three times last season. Last night was a massive step backwards no matter how you look at it.

If you genuinely think anything that happened last night is a step back because of comparisons to our league games with city last season then I’m not sure what to say. Especially considering we actually looked fine other than the 2 5 minute spells where we gave them free goals.

Assessing in a vacuum is exactly what you are doing. There is a multitude of extraneous variables that impact decisions in pre season games. One that doesn’t though, is the result. They are glorified training sessions that, if not for marketing purposes would probably be played behind closed doors. If we’d have battered City 6-0, do you think the bookies would suddenly have us favourites for the league? 

We can all sit and pick these games to bits, but the cold reality is we have no clue what is going to happen this year  until we kick off on the first game of the season at the earliest and realistically we probably won’t actually know until closer to winter 
 

13 hours ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Yep we need another striker. Remember the days when we had Vialli, Hughes, Zola and Flo. How can you play them all? Doesn't matter, over a season they will all be needed and it makes sense. Makes more sense now - because you are allowed 5 subs.

To be fair back then the favoured formations usually included 2 strikers in a lineup. But i agree we are in kieron dyer need of a marquee striker, and just generally a lift for the team, an obvious and clear, straight into the first team  player. Hoping for osimhen personally, but absolutely ready and waiting to be disapointed by our sh1tty regime.

Edited August 5, 20241 yr by ALTE

15 hours ago, dellaw said:

Why is it that every time we change manager the players seem to get there brains  wiped as every new manager says the players have to learn how to to do this and that , The players have been in academy's since the age of 7,  and played for other teams around the globe  but for some reason only known to the Manager they have to learn how to break a press  because they have never been taught before  so is he saying the Directors have bought defenders who don't know how to break a press and we are in the sh*t till he teaches them 

This will always be the issue when you constantly keep changing the manager. We are crying out for a bit of stability and consistency and to build something long-term but I don't think that is ever destined to happen at CFC.