₦airaland Forum

raumdeuter:
Can be frustrating

He does so much work but he is not clinical enough

I just don't understand. I don't even know what his issue is. His played this way since the 1st minute so its not like he was tired.

Very poor motor skills.

I peeped at the CFC game.

Mourinho is a coaching dinosaur. Benfica's overall game play appears timid, reactive & archaic.

Jose is still stuck in 2005.

Victor Osimhen: More like Victor Clumsimen.

swiz123:
Another day for a coach deciding to introduce an extra defender and inviting additional pressure and losing from a winning position.

It’s crazy how much spinelessness can cause in a game.

Eddie didn't believe in the creativity of the opponent. Wanted to be able to counter attack. Pope lost his team this game not the manager. Pope & fatigue.

Tonali was uncharacteristically poor in possession & Bruno joined him later in the 2nd half. Elanga's pace was never utilized in this game. The invited pressure should have allowed him if the Newcastle midfield weren't bad in possession today.

Fairs.

Gabriel who should have been sent off for his elbow on Woltermade wins it at the death.

Over to the "Ball-playing is inferior to Shot-stopping" GK crew to analyze. The role of Raya vs Pope in this game.

Pope kept reinviting pressure with his careless release of the ball...one of which led to the winner.

Raya kept helping his team in the buildup. Assisted possession maintenance & helped sustain the pressure that collapsed Newcastle.

CEOs and Presidents are texting Arteta now. Nobody has ever dominated Newcastle like this in 18 years.

Gabriel should've seen red like the color of his shirt.

But VAR can be manipulated only when it is necessary.

Be very afraid
These other players are getting bodied & carried away
Still another Philly Sleeky Classic today
So all the people that were hating can catch a bouquet. . .

mirinder:
whats your thoughts on pep packing the lorry instead of coming out and play arsenal? Where is godx

Played Napoli late on Thursday, traveled to London to play Arsenal on Sunday who had played earlier on Tuesday & had more rest days.

Part of the lessons from last season was fatigue. BHA, United, Feyenoord, Sporting, PSG and so on, City played well, scored 1st & then got tired in the 2nd half since we only had 13/14 players. This season, fatigue was evident in the 2nd half against both Tottenham and BHA. With little recovery time & injuries, made sense to play rest defense. Same tactics was used in the UCL in 22/23. 1-1 draw to Leipzig, RM & Bayern. Thrashed all at the Etihad.

I already told people to watch out for December. Match fitness & consistency will be clear then. You're not going to win the league after MD 5.

He's got everything I told you He's got/
This young man showboats like He's selling a Yacht/

GodX,

See the performance you had issues with, he started the same line up.

I don't know why Bernardo must start though.

odizeey:
Na for America dreams dey come true o. Nothing like European dream o. Na only American dream dey.

Theater of dreams no be OT? OT no be Europe?

Believe bros.

raumdeuter:
Chelsea just allowed Bayern to win so they can get more payment for Nicholas Jackson

This is the Flamengo game in the CwC. In Enzo (whether Maresca or Fernandez) we Trust.

Fluke result from Bayern.

CFC still remains the UCL & EPL favorites this season.

Trevor012:
This is a fresh Bayern team playing at home unlike a tired PSG under different circumstances. I would be Surprised if Bayern don't score at least 5.

PSGs issue wasn't fatigue.

Football Meta
Football from Above

Check out their YouTube reviews of the CFC vs PSG game from mid July. I agree with both.

No doubt EM believes this is the lineup against the big teams. Should be interesting to see if Vincent learnt from Enrique's CwC mistakes.

Silentgroper:
. Ball playing gk is exactly the reason PSG wants Chevalier over him .

So he really is not a ball playing gk .. the other guy is right...

I wrote a post on Lucas when a similar argument was made after PSG faced Arsenal in the UCL semis. PSG would've gotten Chevalier in Enrique's 2nd season (last season) if they had judged him as critically as your position suggests. Instead, Enrique thought it better to take a hands on approach on Donna - recommending the training coach & guiding him directly. The fallout between player vs Team was financial. He was earning €200k per week & initially asking for an improved offer during negotiations which PSG rejected. Later he asked them to maintain the same amount but at that point PSG asked him to take lower or look elsewhere.

AirBere:
If you classify Dona as a ball playing GK, cool No wahala. 👍

It's not about what I feel. Same way Ederson is also a shot stopper even if not as gifted at it as say. . . Alisson. The point is, Donna is also a ball-playing GK for Pep. His distribution being less precise than Ederson's doesn't negate that.

Pep learning? Yes. Evolution is part of life.
Pep learning about Donna? No. Wanted him before Ederson in 2017. Research isn't that hard.

The goal should be to seek truth not win arguments.

Katcall:
Donnarumas ball distribution is suspect. Nine out of his ten clearance went out of the touchline

There's no point finding another Ederson. Even Neuer isn't as good with the ball at his feet. Donnarumma is just too elite a shot stopper to ignore if he's available that's why City went for him. For all his lapses in aerial judgment & ball maldistribution, the guy is a strong tower. His aura drives fear into opp strikers & he's just 26. Working with Pep will help his deficiencies. He'll be instrumental in the bigger games where Trafford might still be a little nervous.

AirBere:
This thing is not black and white lol.

My initial post read; a GK excellent at stopping shots but average at passing trumps a GK that's excellent at passing but average at shot stopping. This was my initial opinion.

As such, Ederson is known for his distribution not shot stopping. That doesn't mean he never made saves. Dona(traditional gk) made his name as an actual shot stopper not passing/distribution.

Ederson's biggest strength as a GK is passing.
Dona's biggest strength as a GK is shot stopping. This is a universal knowledge to those who have actually watched both GKs.

I'm all for crazy takes but you kind of need data (even if misinterpreted) to have some of yours. You're passing off your own understanding as truth. It isn't.

Donna has strengths & weaknesses. Ederson too. However, just like under Enrique, Donna is a ball-playing GK under Pep. Whether he's as good as Ederson at it or not is immaterial.

AirBere:
Baba rest lol, Dona is not a ball playing GK.


“Always I try to adapt to the quality of the players,” Guardiola said Friday. “I will not demand Gigi do something that is uncomfortable.

“We are talking about the best player I have ever seen in the distribution, short or long, with Ederson. We didn’t take Gigi to do what Ederson has done. Gigi has another quality.”

That other quality is stopping shots not passing.

Because Ederson never stopped any shots?

You're entitled to your understanding but not the truth.

Godx:
Tell me you don't watch city without telling me you don't. Performance has been terrible. The reason United have 70% possession in this 2nd half and countless shots against us is because we are missing a ball player like Ederson. We can't even control possession anymore against United at home. I fear for us going to Anfield and Emirates.

My issue isn't even in possession. I want to attack quickly. To spring up tactical surprises when trying to create offenses. To use the overlapping defenders more. To go directly to Erling. To put in the early cross rather than approaching the byline 1st.

AirBere:
He's definitely not. This is one of the reason Enrique chased him away. The amount of hoof ball today was enough.

There's no need for too much grammar/shalaye lol. Trafford sent Ederson to Turkey, Dona came in and immediately Trafford was dropped with Ortega nowhere to be found.

By January, if he(Trafford) is serious about going to the world cup then he'll leave on loan. Dona is the new first choice in town. Pep already said he'll adapt to what Dona does and not the other way round and it was evident with today's performance from city.

You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Godx:
Bro how do you see our midfield and it's issue in holding onto possession and dominating games. The 2nd half was irritating and United could have scored at least 2 with better decision making. I know Rodrigo is not back to full fitness but Rejinders is not helping matters in that regard. I thought he was like Gundogan but he's not.

This is still pre-season. The task was to show improvements from the 1st 3 games in certain aspects. Since its a derby & the fact we were home there was increased pressure to not lose. Mix all that with new players, a new back line, lack of match fitness, returning from international break & you can account for the whole game. We showed every thing we would want to add to the team in this one game except for maybe responding to conceding.

We've shown shape change, counter-pressing, O-O-P pressing, ball possession, counter attacking, mid block, low block, attacking directly etc - in spurts. Pep will now be looking for some consistency until December. Then, he'll know his starters, bench & different iterations to try.

I agree with your Reijnders take. Pep should take that same stance he had with KDB concerning him & insist he's a final phase player. In the CwC, he even used him as a 6 against Al-Hilal & the gaps he caused defensively are still playing in my head. But that's part of the learning phase. Bernardo is another tactical headache because he's still serviceable but I don't believe he's a solution provider as a starter in any position.

And unlike what many think, elite coaches know you learn about your team more when the events mirror reality. That's why we didn't organize many preseason friendlies. The plan was to use the first few games to understand the team.

Its a long season. Finished Pep was 3rd last season, a massive 3 points behind 2nd placed AFC & lost an FA Cup final to Crystal Palace. You know, Crystal Palace that everyone now accepts are a well-coached team.

AirBere:
It's not by watching city, it's the reality now. A change was needed and may be this is it. You've lost the games you controlled with over 70% possession. You lost to Brighton after going a goal up and dominated possession in the game. You've dominated all those games yet you had 1 win in 3 until today.

There's a reason why Pep Guradiola; a professional football manager started a goal keeper who can actually stop shots the moment he was available. With ball playing GKs using seat belt on the bench.

Correlation/Causation fallacy.

Donnarumma is a ball-playing GK.

Godx:
Tell me you don't watch city without telling me you don't. Performance has been terrible. The reason United have 70% possession in this 2nd half and countless shots against us is because we are missing a ball player like Ederson. We can't even control possession anymore against United at home. I fear for us going to Anfield and Emirates.

Pep has tried 4 different things in 4 different games this season. That's the excuse in my head. Its clear he's looking for something. The team will not have an identity till December 2025 into January 2026.

Godx:
I can't recognize Pep anymore.

He'll figure it out. He's rediscovering himself. Learning his players anew. Trying new things.

I was ABSOLUTELY against the signing of Donnarumma but I've seen some signs that He'll add something to us. Rodri is still coming back to match fitness. The chemistry is building.

You're Neo in the Matrix.
The other coaches? Nemo in the ocean.
Smallfish, making kids feel emotion.
using you for promotion.
Truer words have never been spoken.
People want to see 'RIP PEP' on a T-shirt like he's Hulk Hogan.

Amigoss:
Even you an oil club and Chelsea that are not shy to throw the cash at players wouldn't start a negotiation with the club's perceived valuations, when it is not the release clause that is been activated....

Okay. So they've told you how much to bring for the player. It's left for LFC to put up or shut up.