MrExcalibur100

If Zouma was the exact same player from our youth team, he won't have played that game. On the other hand, if Ake was the 10 mil pound kid from some middling French club, he would have played. I honestly believe that. Anyway, based off the evidence of Zouma's performance, I can't see how the decision was justified. Ake on the other hand has looked brilliant when he's played there, both in the league and in the CL.

So now is it formation (4-4-2) or mentality? Because Mancini played a different formation and had a far more conservative approach than Pellegrini, but still got outclassed in Europe.

You tell me, Jason. I seriously have no idea why he didn't play.

Over the two legs they got outclassed. Barcelona were dominating the game prior to the red card. City were extremely poor in that 1st leg but were slightly better in Barcelona, I remember that clearly. That was all 4-2-3-1 not 4-4-2, but nobody in the media was moaning about the shape back then. I just find it a very surface level analysis and even a cop out for some of City's big name players. It was the same under Mancini, but no one was moaning about the formation back then cos he never played 4-4-2 and they still got out-classed. i.e http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/667761/Live/Europe-UEFA-Champions-League-2012-2013-Ajax-Manchester-City

One of the reasons is probably that he's had to do with a lot of new players settling into the side at the early stages of the season. He's turned things around brilliantly. I rate Brendan extremely highly as a manager.

Why didn't he start vs Spurs?

If City changed their formation from 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, it won't make a lick of a difference whether domestically or in Europe, case in point, vs Barcelona last season. They still got outclassed and overrun in midfield. This same core of players also failed in Europe under Mancini and he never played a 4-4-2. What was the excuse back then? It's just funny to me how much weight is being given to a mere formation by some of these terrible pundits. And I never said Aguero was a one trick pony. It's a well known fact he's a better player with a partner.

I think you're agreeing with me there . It's the most important because it's latest one we play.

A midfield of Toure, Silva and Nasri with Aguero and Dzeko ahead of them is not exactly the most hardworking team in the world, true. I understand the thinking behind it though. It's not easy for a player like Aguero to play up front on his own because of his size. He's a better player with a partner. But in the 2nd half, it has to be said, Pellegrini brought on Milner for Dzeko and they looked far worse. Against Barcelona last season, they played a 4-2-3-1 in both legs and still got outclassed twice. They've also beaten many strong teams with a 4-4-2 before. The point is, it's not about the formation but about the personnel and a lack of a more conservative approach from Pellegrini sometimes, not 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or whatever.

I didn't watch the match live because I had other important commitments, but now that I've watched it, I can see how some people will feel a certain way about the performance. The fresher team, with the better players won, there was nothing tactically brilliant about it. Zouma for instance looked hopelessly lost in midfield and I thought the football was appalling, not for the first or last time this season. So despite the trophy, (which is a trophy we should EXPECT to win given our current squad), I can understand the bittersweet feeling some people might have. The style of football is not sustainable in the long run. It's as simple as that.

With all due respect, that's just completely false.

Atletico Madrid play 4-4-2 all the time and are the most solid team in Europe. I'm not sure why so much credence is given to simply the formation.

This is our most important game of the season as far as the Premier League goes. We have to win this game. We have to start accepting the gifts from now on. Whatever happened in West Ham's last game vs Palace has no relation to this game whatsoever.

I think that says a lot about Ramires as a player. Literally one of the worst players in our squad. Ake should also have been given more of a chance as he's gotten so far. He's arguably our most experienced player from the youth team and has always played very well there. If he can't get games then who can?

He will be a great replacement for JT

I think you already know the answer to your question.

^^^^^^^^^ Maybe he should just focus solely on preparing the team for the game.

Nice!

And what now is our excuse for that 2nd half display vs Man City at Stamford Bridge?

He needs to sort it out on Sunday. There's no Matic there, so it's even more responsibility for him.

Too bad Mikel isn't fit. I'm seriously dreading Ramires in midfield. The guy is terrible in providing adequate defensive cover. He gets dribbled past so easily. I also hope to see Filipe Luis start this game. He more than deserves to start after his last performance.

It's the same for me. The notification bar/bell is not clearing. Also, when I post a comment, I have to edit it in the full editor mode to be able to space my paragraphs.

I posted this elsewhere, but am I the only person having difficulties using this site lately?

Just because the top teams in the PL are now pretty average doesn't mean the league as a whole is poor, there are 20 teams in the division. The Premier League is still the deepest league in the world in terms of talent top to bottom. It's way more evenly spread out than any other league in the world. The league is probably the deepest its ever been. Another thing is the average premier league team is very different from the average La Liga or Serie A team for example. In terms of physicality, directness of play, intensity. I can expand on that, but I'm sure you get the point. All these factors favour the lesser teams, who though lacking in quality, can more than compensate for their short-comings by more "robust" and physical means, means which are allowed to happen in English football because of the way the game is reffed. Case in point being Stoke City. A Stoke City simply won't be allowed to exist in any other big league in Europe. These are all big factors that don't occur to some people. It's what makes the PL the hardest league in the world to compete in and arguably the hardest to win. So of COURSE, it will be amazing if we won it this year! Don't let any rival fan or clueless Chelsea hating pseudo-journalist convince us otherwise.

Another thing is this. I hope the FA and the Premier League are proud of their work watching this. With their clandestine manipulations at the top of the league table, using their hand-picked referees to influence the outcome of games. We saw it last season with Liverpool and we've seen it this season worse than ever with us. They've weakened the Premier League in their bid to make it "tight" at the top, to market their product as the "best league in the world" . They've merely suceeded in making it a laughing stock in Europe. Right now, the Spanish League is much better. Much better. What made the PL great 7-10 years ago was US. It was Roman Abramovich. Through his finances, when he made us the dominant team in England, Man United had to spend and work harder to reach our level. That dominance made them stronger and it had a rob on effect on other clubs like Liverpool and eventually a trickle-down effect on the rest of the top 10 teams to get their act together. The FA and PL don't want a dominant team BUT it's exactly that dominant team that will make the EPL the best league in the world again. Gary Neville had a great article on this on The Telegraph. (P.S : what the hell is wrong with the editing on this forum and the notification bell?)