QPR 2 – 2 Man City – MY THOUGHTS
9 Nov
In the build-up to this match, Sergio Aguero declared that he’ll stay at City until the club wins the Champions League. With the form that the Argentine is currently in, there may well be a few supporters who hope the Blues continue to struggle in Europe’s top competition.
Again yesterday, as has often been the case this season, Aguero came to City’s rescue. If not quite as ill-disciplined and shambolic as the midweek encounter with CSKA Moscow, there were certainly worrying signs at Loftus Road as Manuel Pellegrini’s side were out-battled, out-thought and, most scarily, out-played by a QPR team who will spend the season fighting for survival. Were it not for two special finishes from Aguero, City would have recorded a second embarrassing defeat in four days. Crisis? Not just yet, but if performances continue in this vein then that moment won’t be far away.
Coming off the back of last Wednesday’s humiliation, fans could reasonably have expected a modicum of fight and passion as the players looked to dispel any concerns about the squad’s mentality. Sadly not. This was a sloppy performance, characterised by wayward passing and a lethargy that was only shaken off in the final few minutes as City became desperate. Yet again, the defence was disorganised and vulnerable, the midfield offered little protection or control and Aguero was isolated in attack. That this wasn’t the Blues’ worst display of the week says much about the dross served up against CSKA.
Pellegrini, much to the delight of many supporters, altered the system for this match, finally releasing Yaya Touré to operate further forward and pairing the two Brazilians, Fernando and Fernandinho, for the first time behind the Ivorian. James Milner was a surprise exclusion on a day when his grit and incisiveness would perhaps have been more useful than Samir Nasri’s nonchalance. Still, at least the manager showed signs of adapting his approach.
Did it work? Well, clearly not. Despite having a numerical advantage in the middle, City struggled to contain the home side. Bobby Zamora bullied the nervy Eliaquim Mangala, Charlie Austin’s movement posed problems throughout and Gael Clichy’s midweek horror show extended into the weekend against the lively Eduardo Vargas. It was only down to Joe Hart’s brilliance that City conceded just twice. Hart, as the last line of defence, was one saviour. At the other end of the pitch, Aguero was another. There was, sadly, nothing in between.
Mangala will be given time to settle in and rightly so, but he was positionally unsure, physically troubled and hesitant in possession. It might have become commonplace over the last few weeks to highlight his young age and his potential, but it’s worth remembering he is a 23-year-old international who has made more than 200 career appearances, not a teenager straight out of the reserves. He needs to improve and fast.
Fortunately for the Frenchman and the rest of the team, Aguero had one of those days when everything clicks despite the absence of support around him. Both of his goals were sublime, showcasing his ability to drift beyond the opposition backline and then pluck the ball out of the sky before twisting this way and that. Those behind him may have been ineffectual, but there was a hunger and a passion in Aguero’s eyes that meant he was never going to be on the losing side.
As it is, the international break comes at a good time for City. More than just disappointing results over the past couple of weeks, the performances have been mystifying in their insipidness and so the chance to get away for a few days and then hopefully come back refreshed and ready to power forward is one that should be grasped. The players surely have to return stronger and more focused. We have to hope so, at least, because nobody wants to see City continue like this.
Mangala is 23 and is still being given the chance whilst Nastasic who was a hit from the day he came was never played again. Demichelis always in the team although he makes mistakes a 13 year old would do. Milner in the center of the park was always a hit but not to our genious Pellegrini. Soon the cup is coming up. Lets see if he gives some of Vieras kids a run cos there surly showing .more ability then our senior stars. As i always stated no Silva no party!
Hope to see him back on the pitch.
Mike
We really must change the team, yaya has to go, and I wouldn’t mind us freshening up the team with replacements for nasri and navas.
Terrifying how reliant we are on kompany, silva and aguero as our core, especially when you compare the 6 or so players that barca, bayern and real have, they can afford a couple of key injuries, whilst we simply can’t.
I’m hoping to see pozo make the step up soon, dzeko is as awful as always, except he can’t score now either, and jovetic looks like he will become a better version of nasri as opposed to the second 15+ goal striker we really need.
The way we are playing a couple of EDS players may be the way to go, get some fight and passion in the team, and make the big boys realise they need to perform to get in the team.
Navas too predictable, Yaya not interested, Nasri happy to get a good pass-completion ratio, Fernando lazy and bottled tackles, Fernandinho running around like a headless chicken, Clichy all over the show….there is so much that needs improving. Badly missed Kolarov, Silva and Vinnie
Little harsh on Nasri and Fernando, the rest i probably agree with at the moment
Its a shame the contract renewals are not having the impact the club thought it may have had.The only players seem to be motivated at the moment are aguero,kompany,joe hart,james milner ,silva.
If one thing Mancini did right-on and by the way Mourinho is instilling in Chelsea real damn good is that you defend as a team and you attack as a team.
Unfortunately, under Pellers you attack as team and you defend as an individual. It is about time to take a step back and starting thinking a bit Italian and start from defense.
Titles are won by defense, I truly believe in that
You only win titles on defense, If you can score aswell.
Currently we are doing neither very well!
I seriously wonder if the yaya debacle has destroyed the dressing room?
People have suggested the world cup hurting players aswell, but aguero has destroyed that suggestion, if any players are too weak to get over the world cup and are still being affected by it, then they don’t deserve to be at the club..
The best thing a player can do to improve their reputation is not play when the team are doing badly, I’m now seeing the same with Mancini now he’s not here. Title winning teams are good in both attack and defence unfortunately we are good at neither at the moment, however, I would agree that its great defences that will win trophies.
Aguero hardly played at the world cup but at the end of the day I’m sure there are several players who played in the later stages and are having good seasons.
We’re not scoring as many as we did last season but a goal difference of +10 after 11 games would indicate that things at that end of the pitch are not as dire as you suggest Blob.
Some of the comments here are a bit wild IMO. We have been disappointing for sure and yes, we depend on a core of quality players, all sides do that.
No excuses but Merlin and Vince were out with injury, two of our most influential players, we should cope better but that is still a big loss.
Nasri is coming back from a lengthy injury and protects the ball well, he is getting back hopefuly to his best form. One last word from me on Yaya; he has superb control, his retention and ability to find attacking players in dangerous positions is 2nd to none. Give him the correct role and he will deliver, he has improved in the derby and since then, he should only be used in the more advanced role, he hasn’t the engine for box to box and as a result is a liability in defence.
As for Fernando, he is adjusting to a quicker more physical league and is doing OK most of the time. The criticism of him is harsh and the criticism of Demichelis borders on crass.
The main concerns would seem to be Fernie(1) whose confidence seems shattered, he’s a shadow of the player that we had last season and Gael Clichy whose rash tendency to commit and get left stranded is becoming the thing of nightmares. As for Edin – he lurches from instinctive goal scorer to truly dreadful and it’s about time he lurched back to scoring some goals if/when he gets another start!
It needs sorting out, the defence needs to settle hopefully with Kolarov & Vince back soon plus Zaba and Demichelis. Stay with the two Brazzo’s in DMF for the time being and consider James Milner to partner Fernando if Fernie(1)’s form doesn’t improve.
Kun and Merlin are nailed on, Yaya should play in the hole and one from James, Nasri, Jove or Navas to make up the final place in the attacking 4. My preference is for James Milner although all four can make a case if they get their heads and form right.
Settle down as a team, gain some confidence, get the passing and possession game back and take it from there.
Alf:
Would you consider Silva in behind Kun with Yaya then dropped to the bench, meaning picking 2 from the 4 you suggest? I hear what you’re saying about Toure being a little better recently and the fact he is more suited to the advanced role, but I still expect more from him IMO. Not that I’m saying do this right away but if Yaya’s form doesnt improve further it’s definitely the way I would go.
Part of the reason for Fernandinho blip is due to lack of enough game time, I am sure if both Fernies play side by side with Milner on right and Yaya/Silva behind Aguero and Nasri/Jovetic as LM, we would have a good grip on midfield or at the very least a very mobile midfield.
I fully agree that a degence minded team always get results
.y
Great point Siamack
You build from the back and you build with players willing to run the extra mile for the team not for individual glory. You play with determination and passion till the end. We have players with those requisites we just have to build around them. The f..k with always playing sexy football. Sometimes you need to play ugly to get to wanted 3 points. Lets start planning so to get the right players and important get the right person working with the team now to know what needs to be done.
Mike
You know what boys. Credit where it’s due. QPR played well.
Hart is a good keeper from the ankles up if he could distribute the ball like Reina he’d be brilliant. Its hard to judge any player in those conditions, I thought sagna had his best game for us’ were not getting the rub of the green at the minute. A lot of the passing was poor & anytime a team attacks us now they look like scoring, if we have players in the squad but who are not deemed “good enough” for the starting xl I.e pozo Sinclair nastasic then what’s the point of them being there?? I was surprised to see milner left out, he’s been great for us – I really would like the boss to put two or three fresh faces in the team….it would send a strong message to the rest of the squad while also offering big encouragement to Vieira’s boys.
There were definite glimpses of Sagna getting better for me. Hart’s distribution could be better but lets not just point out the negatives, there has never been a perfect player in any position, so lets just be happy for his great form.
Re your last (before the above).
Yes of course Merlin is a genuine call for the hole; he and Yaya are the two players who can retain possession and are capable of running a game from there, infairness to Nasri he too could do that at his best. The thing is that Merlin can play all over the advanced areas, Yaya’s main threat is right there between the Centre circle and the box.
Ideally we need one player to cope with the DMF role, as Makelele did for Mourinho’s best ever Sibneft side, but we are not there yet. If we were it would be a five man attack I’d want to see with Yaya anchoring the show and Merlin pulling the strings.
On another front, take comfort, Jason Denayer, John Guidetti, Karim Rekik and Roni Lopes are doing very well as they step up a level in their season long loans. Disappointingly Bruno Zuculini appears to be getting no opportunities to mention at Valencia. From what I saw last summer, and that was all of the pre-season games, I’d give him a run at City in a 4231 tomorrow.
Alph
The organisation and control has vanished with a system that is not a match for the Mourinho system. MP wants us to start passing the ball again and he is correct but we need to pass with organisation and control. Opposing teams know our method and are rushing us out of control. We need to get that back with midfield dominance. Drop the 442 MP and start games with a broad back and a sharp front. Then release our attacking systems late on. It will work.
Most teams are either pressing us high or waiting and counter quickly. I cannot expect not be pushed back against certain teams but were are our deadly counter attacks or our fast combination play? Most of you remember the 6-1 drubbing to Utd and most of the goals were fast breaks and fast interchanging passes. Yaya is currently our creative midfielder with Silva out but he needs to speed up play. we also need to play him forward like mancini used to do but we need a good holding midfielder capable of good distribution (like Alonso,Pirlo etc) there ain’t much but that’s were scouts come in. Fernando and fernandhino are not thos kind of players.