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Match Ratings Ratings vs Man City

MOTM

  • Lloris

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Trippier

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Sanchez

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Verts

    Votes: 181 77.0%
  • Davies

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Dier

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Dembele

    Votes: 4 1.7%
  • Lamela

    Votes: 2 0.9%
  • Eriksen

    Votes: 12 5.1%
  • Dele

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Kane

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Son

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Moura

    Votes: 28 11.9%
  • Sissoko

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 4 1.7%

  • Total voters
    235

Spursh

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2009
2,558
6,514
Poch was caught in two minds from the start. We were incredibly deep to begin, allowing the likes of Silva and KDB to carry the ball to our box uninterrupted. They hit the bar and went close with shots just outside our box.

After 10 minutes we went to the other extreme, pushing our back line almost to the half way line, which stemmed the flow momentarily until City switched on to the shift, and we were caught with a quick fire double, the first coming from a ball over the top.

Thankfully we were able to gain a footing in the game when Dele and Erik tucked in from the wings, and Dembele started to bully their CMs. He’s the anti-press. However, neither Moussa or Dier can play an incisive pass, but instead of moving Eriksen a little deeper, Poch elected Dele to do this job. He’s a wonderfully instinctive player, but he hasn’t got that sharpness with time on the ball.

Unfortunately another ricket from Lloris secured the game for City. Dembele deserves praise, as does Jan who was superb. They’re an outstanding team wounded by some horrible results recently. I still believe we’re the second best team in the league, just hope we can regain focus for next weekend
 

matthew.absurdum

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
3,732
10,120
  1. Lloris - shite
  2. Trippier - shite
  3. Davies - shite
  4. Sanchez - shite
  5. Vertonghen - good
  6. Dier - shite
  7. Dembele - shite
  8. Alli - shite
  9. Lamela - shite
  10. Eriksen - ok
  11. Kane - shite
  12. Son - ok
  13. Lucas - good
  14. Sissoko - sissoko

So I always say, when everyone were playing bad, Sissoko would still be fine as he is very consistently being sissoko
 

ClintEastwould

Well-Known Member
Jul 3, 2012
4,748
9,845
We were outclassed. Plain and simple. City are an immensely talented team. All the posters who said that they couldn't see them losing 4 in a row were correct. They have been massively unlucky in those games. But today they weren't, the balls fell nicer for them whilst we couldn't muster up the will to win, in an admittedly dead rubberish match for us (besides letting them effectively win the title). We've overcame so many obstacles and nullified so many "spursy" tropes. This was not spursy. This was a bad performance compounded with the lesson that we still need to improve that extra 5/10% to truly compete with these teams.

Ratings:

Lloris - 5

Could've been sent off, but conceded a penalty instead. Big question marks about him at the moment and I can't really say they are unjustified.

Trippier - 4

Couldn't do anything right in the first half. Slight improvement in the 2nd

Sanchez - 8

Great last ditch Ledly like tackles. Saved a few goals but you wonder if he could improve positionaly.

Vertonghen - 9.5

Is he the best CB in the world? He is fucking awesome.

Davies - 5

Very mediocre performance. Decent defender, okay on the ball but not top class.

Dier - 6

Thought he was okay. Was good in the second half up until they scored.

Dembele - 6

Same as above

Lamela - 5

Fan of his passion but couldn't get anything going to be honest

Eriksen - 8

He actually played very well despite his mostly lousy teammates around him. Played some great passes, scored and looked the most composed of our players bar Jan.

Alli - 6

Played alright. He has a knack of playing great first time through balls, one or two which almost came off today.

Kane - 4

One of his worst performances. Saw him ambling about but did little to nothing with the ball. He gets some credit for the nice through ball for Eriksen a goal though.

Subs:

Son - 6

Caused some trouble but couldn't change the tide of the match as they scored just before he came on.

Lucas - 6

Exciting player. Remain so to be seen if he was end product.

Sissoko - NET
 
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Oh Teddy Teddy

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2017
5,126
12,060
Lloris – 5: I thought he was a little unlucky. Should have been a free-kick and yellow card. Other than that, he made a few saves where possible. Couldn't do a lot about the others. Still... a 5.

Trips – 5: I really like him, and he has some excellent games for us. But I'm yet to be utterly convinced. Maybe Poch can do something special with Serge next season. Maybe not.

Sanchez – 6: So much to learn, and the fact that he's the one with pace means he'll always be the one required to chase back, but he's got to stop letting his man through so easily. He's a presence, though – and has the best CB in the league next to him...

Vertongen – 8: Even when we concede 3, this guy stands tall. At one point, he was holding his back and I thought to myself "I'll just turn off now".

Davies – 5: A shadow of the player he was at the end of last season/start of this – burnt out, maybe?

Dier – 5: What does he actually do.

Dembele – 6: Some sumptuous touches when we were on top – but, again, lacks creativity. Doesn't offer anywhere near enough in the final third and for this kind of game... he has to.

Lamela – 6: Works hard. I really like him and think he's useful as a squad player. Combative, but didn't really get a grip tonight.

Alli – 4: What the hell was that.

Eriksen – 6: Didn't happen for him too often, but looked the most dangerous around their area

Kane – 3: Awful. Not fit. And everyone's been mean to him.

Subs:
Moura – decent. Start him.
Sissoko – better than Dier.
Son – Ineffective.
 

lukespurs7

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2006
4,833
4,259
Poch was caught in two minds from the start. We were incredibly deep to begin, allowing the likes of Silva and KDB to carry the ball to our box uninterrupted. They hit the bar and went close with shots just outside our box.

After 10 minutes we went to the other extreme, pushing our back line almost to the half way line, which stemmed the flow momentarily until City switched on to the shift, and we were caught with a quick fire double, the first coming from a ball over the top.

Thankfully we were able to gain a footing in the game when Dele and Erik tucked in from the wings, and Dembele started to bully their CMs. He’s the anti-press. However, neither Moussa or Dier can play an incisive pass, but instead of moving Eriksen a little deeper, Poch elected Dele to do this job. He’s a wonderfully instinctive player, but he hasn’t got that sharpness with time on the ball.

Unfortunately another ricket from Lloris secured the game for City. Dembele deserves praise, as does Jan who was superb. They’re an outstanding team wounded by some horrible results recently. I still believe we’re the second best team in the league, just hope we can regain focus for next weekend
We are the 4th best team in the league hence why we are 4th.
 

dannythomas

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2004
3,757
2,813
I almost didnt turn up today. Top 4 all but done. And the players took it the same way. Fa cup win will gloss over this.

If we lose to Brighton top 4 won’t be done. And we’ll probably play a weakened team with the semi coming up.
 

Luka Van der Bale

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2011
6,041
13,611
This is why I’ve always said if Lpool sort their defence out they’ll be a better team than us which is being shown when it comes to games against the very very best teams Liverpool are fairing better, this is down to tactics and personnel.
A) Beating the big teams doesn’t make you a better team. Being the best team is about consistency.
B) I think you’ll find we have a better record than Liverpool in matches between the top 6 this season.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
The definition of Insanity

It's very, very hard to comprehend the way Poch had us starting this game, because he's now tried this silly bollocks about 3 times against City and come unstuck every time. You can also include Liverpool a coupe of times in that as well.

I'm repeating what I said at half time, but as great as Guardiola is, you at least know exactly what you are going to get. So you can tactically prepare. You also know what's failed in the past, but for some inexplicable reason Poch decided "half arsed" was the way to go.

Against Guardiola's 433, the very worst thing yo can do is play a high line, play two CM's who are not dynamic enough to support a full press and recover quickly if it's breached, or cope with a 3CM that zip the ball around, and worst of all, have your front 6 pressing like elephants on smack.

Kane was fucking shocking. He just kept ambling around, and failing to support others when pressing, constantly half walking up to Ederson, letting him pass it out, taking himself out of the press and making that first line of defence a fucking cake walk for them. It's stupid even pressing their keeper as we saw what happened at their place when we tried this, but If Kane was vigorously pressing their keeper to try and force a mistake that would be one thing , but he didn't, he just kept strolling toward him with no intent, letting him pick his pass out, and now we couldn't press properly because Kane, the leader of the press, has taken himself out of the equation. And it was exactly this that led to the first goal. I called him doing it a few minutes before he did it again. he waddles towards Ederson, but with no real malice and just lets him pass the ball to Kompany, and he then ambles towards Kompany, giving him time to play the long ball to Jesus.

At first I didn't pay any attention to what Lloris did, but watching it again now on MOTD I've just noticed he did that weird thing again (that he did when Salah scored Liverpool's first) where he actually retreats as Jesus bears down on him. I have no idea if this is some new technique he's pioneering, but it doesn't appear to work.

Again, for the second goal, at first I thought he had to come and was unlucky, but watching it again, he didn't, Sanchez was right there with Sterling, and Lloris is also so out of time he was never getting there first. I don't mind him being pro-active, but he's getting wrong quite a lot now. I could have understood if he'd come flying out to Jesus for the first, he was clean through, but Sterling was miles from being clean through. And what the fuck was he doing for the third goal. Walker hits a shit cross, and Lloris inexplicably pushes it straight down the middle to Sterling.

We all know how good City are, but we (Poch mainly) really made it fucking easy for them. Surely to god you drop Eriksen back and go 433. Either press properly or play deeper and control space. Don't fuck about and leave your CB's constantly exposed. And get Wanyama back in that fucking midfield FFS.

There was a moment around the 8th minute where City are advancing and Silva has the ball, about 25 yards out and I'm thinking "where the fuck is Dier" and then realise Dier has hit full shell mode already and is actually hiding on our penalty spot, deeper than our CB's.

As bad as we were at preventing them playing out with our press, we couldn't play out from theirs because Dier didn't want the ball with someone up his arse. Dembele tried, valiantly, and did actually manage to wriggle free a couple of times, but we really could have done with at least two players who can play under a bit of duress.

After their second they sat back a little and allowed us more ball, and we did build a little momentum the last ten of the first half which yielded a slightly fortunate goal. We carried this momentum into the first 15/20 minutes of the second half, but then Poch compounded all the other things he got wrong by making the wrong sub. It should have been the woeful Kane that got hooked, not Lamela, who wasn't creatively brilliant, but was working hard and playing a lot better than Kane was. When Lamela went off, our ability to press them back, hold the ball up and play in their third diminished immediately, as a result they started eeking back into the game and we lost the momentum we had. The game became very ragged, they were once again dominating, Dembele failed to press DeBruyne, who fed Walker, who fed Lloris and it was game over.

It's kind of ironic that this has become "a thing" with Poch, because before we hired him, it was the final 30 minutes that scared me the most. The first 30 has become much more of a problem. Chelsea away last week, City, Liverpool away, Juve away etc etc (several games where the opposition weren't necessarily good enough to capitalise). You can't just turn up at games, be tactically unprepared, and amble around half arsed and give yourself mountains to climb, especially against the best teams or big games. Poch's in game management has got to improve.

And he has to grow some bollocks where certain players are concerned and treat them the way their performances deserve, or this supposed meritocracy will crumble.


Individual

Lloris - Another big game, another stinker. Culpable in all three goals IMO.

Trippier - Meh

Sanchez - Tough game for the kid, horribly exposed by the failures of those around and ahead of him.

Vertonghen - Head and shoulders MOTM. The only player to come out of this game with any credit at all. Was magnificent and didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

Davies - Meh/OK.

Dier - dire

Dembele - Some good wriggling but was blowing hard all game. Not enough.

Alli/Eriksen/Lamela - Varying degrees of effort/meh hybrid

Kane - Completed 45% of 11 passes. Ambled around like a drunk Elvis at a chicken korma convention. Piss fucking poor.
 

Wellspurs

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2006
6,379
7,734
Each time Harry has had this injury he has come back rusty... fully fit and a hat-trick Tuesday me reckons?
 

Dannyspur

I just don't know anymore!
Aug 17, 2004
10,127
13,799
Lloris – 5: I thought he was a little unlucky. Should have been a free-kick and yellow card. Other than that, he made a few saves where possible. Couldn't do a lot about the others. Still... a 5.

Trips – 5: I really like him, and he has some excellent games for us. But I'm yet to be utterly convinced. Maybe Poch can do something special with Serge next season. Maybe not.

Sanchez – 6: So much to learn, and the fact that he's the one with pace means he'll always be the one required to chase back, but he's got to stop letting his man through so easily. He's a presence, though – and has the best CB in the league next to him...

Vertongen – 8: Even when we concede 3, this guy stands tall. At one point, he was holding his back and I thought to myself "I'll just turn off now".

Davies – 5: A shadow of the player he was at the end of last season/start of this – burnt out, maybe?

Dier – 5: What does he actually do.

Dembele – 6: Some sumptuous touches when we were on top – but, again, lacks creativity. Doesn't offer anywhere near enough in the final third and for this kind of game... he has to.

Lamela – 6: Works hard. I really like him and think he's useful as a squad player. Combative, but didn't really get a grip tonight.

Alli – 4: What the hell was that.

Eriksen – 6: Didn't happen for him too often, but looked the most dangerous around their area

Kane – 3: Awful. Not fit. And everyone's been mean to him.

Subs:
Moura – decent. Start him.
Sissoko – better than Dier.
Son – Ineffective.


I think we watched the same game - totally agree with your ratings
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,512
Miserable game really.

Can only echo much of what BC says, he absolutely nails it in regards to what happened in this game. Right from the off the lack of focus and clear plan (or if there was, the execution of it) and the utter disjointed unit was very disappointing. You just wont get away with such a piss-weak, token effort at pressing against the best teams, they will make you look silly.

Right from the first minute those at the front were just phoning it in really in regards to what they did off the ball, and if there was effort then there was certainly no thought to it. I thought Kane and Eriksen in the early stages were in particular really bad, the ball was constantly going into Gundogan who had drifted off these two and they could construct play from there. This then leaves problems for the next lines of our structure when the front four have been so easily bypassed. I'm not usually one to stick up for the Dier/Dembele axis, but after about 5 minutes of having to engage Gundogan like this, leaving either/or of De Bruyne or Silva free in the process, they understandably went 'fuck this' and ended up shelling towards the centre backs, making the press even worse.

Unfortunately we got one of those occasions where Poch seemed to freeze. Instead of setting some direction, kicking arse and getting the team pressing hard as a compact unit, or disciplined and dropping in behind the ball and restricting space, we got the dreaded drift as we carried on being passive - and with the high line against a team like City it will just be murder. And so 2-0 it was.

We, again, though managed to nick a goal, without any prior indication, just before the break. This gave us a spring in our step, and for the next 15 maybe 20 mins after HT we did play with a bit of tenacity and pressed reasonably well. It didn't last though, even before the third goal these efforts started to drop (in retrospect taking Lamela off maybe didn't help this) and we were getting opened up more, and the third goal then seemed to knock the stuffing out of us completely and the game rather limped to its finish as we didn't exactly attack the latter stages with much intensity to get back in it.

Very annoying game, we just didn't apply ourselves at all - those on the pitch, or the manager off it.

Lloris - Lurching from one disaster to the next currently. Needs to get his head sorted.

Trippier - The usual crappy positioning on numerous occasions. Use of the ball was really meh. Thought his one on one defending was pretty good today though tbf.

Sanchez - Tough for defenders when the unit in front of them is completely misfiring, but he made some really basic errors in terms of holding the line and reading play for chances/goals.

Vertonghen - Maybe a bit culpable for being caught square for the opening goal, but far and away our best player and seemed to be holding it all together by himself at times.

Davies - A couple of decent blocks, but average at best. Was pretty lucky not to get a red card for what he did to Kompany.

Dier - One of those who epitomised the 'shit first 40 - good middle 20 - shit last half hour' display.

Dembele - Did some good Dembele things sporadically. Mostly left chasing shadows like his partner.

Lamela - Pretty quiet game bar some pressing effort. Wasted a couple of decent opportunities first half.

Eriksen - Some classy touches at times, nicked a goal, but also some really poor pressing for the majority and allowed Gundogan far too much room.

Alli - A very few bright touches. The rest I forget.

Kane - Bar a 15 min spell after HT when he put some effort into pressing, an absolutely pathetic display. Clearly not anywhere close to 100%, especially to do the crucial role of leading the press in a game like this, so why is he out there?

Subs:
Son - Was a logical sub, but didn't really work.
Moura - Looked assured and reasonably bright.
Sissoko - n/a.
 
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WexfordTownSpur

preposition me arse
Aug 2, 2007
2,615
653
Recorded the match but from the comments and ratings, don't think I'll bother watching it. Sounded like a bad day at the office. Kind of shows why Liverpool are above us and will stay above us. Boy oh boy did we need that win V Chelski or we could be looking well dodgy right now with all the results today! I actually thought we were poor V Stoke and they could easily come away with a point. Hope win or lose the ratings are up next week, we seem to be folding at this time of the season again, not good!
 

yusrisafri

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2004
6,369
7,548
Kane needs to be dropped. I dont care about him trying to be top scorer again, its the fuckin team that matters. Poch, and judging from a recent episode, the whole club as well, need to stop sucking up to him, grow some balls and drop him.
 

spids

Well-Known Member
Jul 19, 2015
6,647
27,841
++ n/a
+ Verts, Dembele, Eriksen (for effort alone even if he didn't have his usual silky boots on), Moura (what a fantastic cameo)
<> Davies, Dele, Lamela, Son
- Lloris, Sanchez, Trippier, Kane, Dier
-- n/a (Kane would have been in this bracket if he'd not stepped up his work rate 2nd half to help his team mates press - his work rate first half was truly pathetic)

We have to remember that, particularly in possession, Man C are the best team in the World. Bar none. Scousers did a job on them and showed their frailty, but still needed some dodgy decisions to help them get past City.

Sanchez, who has had a fantastic season and will become a great CB, showed that a 21 year old CB is not as consistent as a 29 year old one.

I thought we left way too much space between our defence and our front line and Man C were able to play as they wanted for 75% of the match.
 

danielneeds

Kick-Ass
May 5, 2004
24,179
48,764
Each time Harry has had this injury he has come back rusty... fully fit and a hat-trick Tuesday me reckons?
Same thing as the August problem. He’s a rhythm player, who needs to get full sharpness, before he is effective.
 

Nebby

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2013
3,363
6,377
I thought we left way too much space between our defence and our front line and Man C were able to play as they wanted for 75% of the match.

Its not like we didn't have the players available to pack the central areas, which proved so successful for Liverpool. Dier, Wanyama and Sissoko (yes, Sissoko), would have probably provided a more effective shield. Their passing and movement between the lines is excellent, and when they attacked through the middle they could go left, right, forwards or backwards. If we had overloaded the middle and forced them to play wider, you get the benefit of the touchline doing part of the job for you. Dembele and Eriksen are not going to run down any team. That's just not their strength.
 
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