₦airaland Forum

afrodoc2:
But then you have to question the wisdom of the top guys who went for a strict 3-4-3 coach in the first place.

Fingers have been pointing at Berrada as the person who pushed for Amorim. Ashworth didn't want him because of the formation issue but that one wanted Southgate. Wilcox also didn't want Amorim because of the formation issue.

I think Amorim's sack is linked to Wilcox finally getting control over football matters above Berrada.

The formation is only part of the problem though. All our struggles pre-Amorim came in a back 4 formation. Wilcox and Vivell have to work hard at improving the squad and appointing a quality head coach.

Amorim has shown he is a terrible manager with the poor job he did at Leverkusen...One think I noted yesterday was the fact that Bruno was not all over the place like was the case in Erik Bin Laden's era, he was posionally disciplined, and it help us contain City in the middle of the park...Pep had to sub Foden after the first half for Cherki who was also subdued.

CrystalTiger:
Good football for the most part is very simple to the eyes.. Allow players do what they're good at and not these unnecessary tactical nonsense..

Every player on the pitch yesterday was for the most part in his comfort zone which helped them defend together and attack together..

As simple as ABC. Play to the strength of your PLAYERS, and do not overcomplicate things.

afrodoc2:
Of all the sins of Amorim his cardinal sin was playing his 3-4-3 which requires a 2-man midfield when NONE of our midfielders is suited to 2-man midfield. That was what made his set up dysfunctional and that was what led to our defence being under so much pressure.

Asking 2 men who can't do the job of 2 men to do the job of 3 men.

Exactly.

Now the dust has settled, let me drop my take on the performance yesterday.

1. The players were only 30% of the problem, the bulk of it was the dysfunctional setup deployed by Amorim. In a 4-3-3 formation, there are a lot of bodies in the middle, so it is difficult for the opposition to play through the middle. Yesterday, with Bruno (He surprisingly stuck to his position), Mainoo and Casemiro, we had control in the midfield and enough bodies to stop City from attacking us through the middle. This alone meant that the defence was not left exposed as was the case with Amorim's 3-4-2-1 (3-4-3) formation. In Amorim's setup, the 3 CBs were left exposed for the most part, which is suicidal at this level, but in the 4-3-3 setup, we were more proactive than reactive; we stopped a lot of attacks before they got to our box.

2. Bruno, as the most advanced of our midfielders, ensured that the ball kept moving with quick passes and constant movement. He showed us what we have been missing by playing him in a 2-man midfield.

3. We need a LWF. I admit Dorgu had an above-average game, but we need more at this level. Amad on the right ensured Ake and, later on, O'Riley were on their toes for the entirety of the game with his direct runs and dribbles.
When Cunha came on, he looked even more effective playing from the right even though he might prefer playing from the left. If Cunha were on the left, he would look to cut in and shoot rather than drive to the byline and cross. I hope we can get a LWF forward in the summer.

4. Casemiro is irreplaceable at the moment. Age might have caught up with the combative Brazilian, but his experience and passing are indispensable. For someone renowned for his tackling, Casemiro's ability to play a one-time pass is often not talked about as much as it should. He is a calming presence in our midfield, one that we must replace with a player of similar attributes come the summer.

5. Mainoo is not as bad as we thought he had become. I thought he complemented Casemiro very well yesterday with some very good movement and short passing. If Carrick can get the best out of Mainoo, it will do the club a lot of good...

I don't want to talk about Martinez and his ball-playing abilities, as I think it's already common knowledge.

In the whole, we looked much better in a 4-3-3 setup, which seems like the formation that's best suited for the majority of players in our setup.

eph12:
The return of Maguire and Martinez has helped a lot. We used to have Yoro and Heaven as our CBs.

No, we used to have a dysfunctional setup. How many times did Maguire and Martinez face the kind of pressure we used to face under Amorim's setup?

Moses Simon scores...

Marmoush misses.

Akor scores.

Salah miss.

You guys are now 3 pts behind us. It will stay this way if you guys manage to steal a point this evening.

afrodoc2:
Na marathon. Every point they lose will count at the end of the season. I would rather have them 4 points behind than 1 point behind.

Doc, you really believed what I said? 😂

Englishisamust:
;Initial gra gra!!! I no even dey surprised with the win because even when we no dey in form we dey spank city

You never begin hala...When we BEAT Arsenal, you can deactivate...

Even if Chelsea win 10 vs 0, e no concern me...They will remain behind us...

eph12:
Who is City buying next?

Meanwhile assnal is the biggest winner in this Manchester United win

Next week, we will beat Arsenal, so City can reduce the gap back to 6 pts...

main24:
We will revisit this quote after 10 to 20 games from Carrick. I might be wrong and he will be the messiah we've been waiting for. But it's too early too judge.
- Infact I am indeed worried he started with a win. I might be wrong, time will tell.

Baba we just beat our city rivals, allow people to celebrate na!

Suffer no dey tire you?

At least person go rest. After the game against Brighton e be like say we no get any quality player at all...

Jamiuokolaa:
We really needed to see the team vs low block opposition

Pep made this game easy for us tbh

He played into carrick's hands

But we didn't just sit back.

Pep want cry...😂 😂 😂

I need Arsenal next...

Englishisamust:
All this initial gra gra no Dey freak me, no be Man U wey we know,

You want Amorim back? Talk fast make I know whether to ban your account or not.

This is the interim manager we asked you guys to wait for...

Amorim should be arrested by Interpol.

Dorgu...

If you like play 5 CBs, if your midfield is open, you'll concede tons of goals. See how difficult it is for City to play through the middle.

Amorim should not be allowed anywhere close to Manchester again...That guy is a fraud.

See how good we look in a 3 man midfield...Amorim, you are mad...

Just play to the payer's strength, that's all we asked of Ruben Bin Laden Amorim...

Amorim did us dirty with his useless 3-4-3...

If Amorim was here with his useless 3-4-3, we would be defending...

Mbeumo, thank you.

See the Mainoo wey Man Utd fans begin doubt...

Just strike the ball, must you chip it?

Casemiro why?

Funny enough, there's a lot of space to attack, Cunha will do well in this game but make him chop bench small...😂