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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

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Didn’t we beat them and draw to them last season ...

We were even worse in the first hour at their place last season than we were here today, and if the ref had given the penalty when Walker shoved Sterling in the back we’d never have fluked the 2-2 draw we got.
 

Sykes

Well-Known Member
Jul 16, 2017
165
811
Jan 100% MOTM. But i also dont understand the ratings for Sanchez, although it wasnt his best game he made some crucial tackles and wasnt helped out by how poor Trippier and the CM's on his side were, often left exposed.
 

werty

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2005
25,074
26,310
We tried it in the first half against City in the away game. We tried to press in this game too but we were so bad at it and City's set up nullified our front four and the two behind had too much space to cover.
If I could be bothered to watch the game back I could show you us trying to press but doing it poorly. They way they set up Alli and Lamela didn't know whether to shit or wind their watch. They always had at least one spare man in the middle and it caused us havoc. We were bit better at it at the start of the second half, but they changed again and we went to shit again.
 

jonathanhotspur

Loose Cannon
Jun 28, 2009
10,292
8,250
but sane didn't walk over trippier, he completed zero successful dribbles and was hooked after 60 mins because he wasn't really getting much joy out of trippier at all. trippier did actually learn from the first game and got in tight every time sane received the ball, rather than allowing him space to run at him. i don't think he had a particularly good game in other areas but this rhetoric that sane ruined him again is just a lazy one, a lack of pressure from the front and runners in between our cbs(namely sterling and jesus) was our biggest problem, along with dier and dembele struggling to get near their midfield three.
Trippier's defending was fine. That being said, Sane has been off the boil recently.
 

thfc1989

Well-Known Member
May 8, 2008
2,601
3,439
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

Sanchez 8 is hilarious, he was at fault for a few goals and nearly cost us a few more
 

onthetwo

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2006
4,583
3,407
i didnt find a TV screen until the last 30 mins (shortly before their 3rd goal) and i barely recognised us until Moura came on and injected some impetus. Very odd performance for a Poch side so hoping to see some kind of reaction tomorrow evening.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
This game is still bothering me, deeply. That we could be so ill prepared, so fucking shoddy about our work and repeat the same tactical cluster fuck as we have several times before is quite troubling.

I love so much of what Poch is about but his pandering to big reps, certain players being undroppable or beyond being bollocked or yanked early when they are clearly not working or doing what's expected is an issue. The very best managers make the toughest choices, even if it means treading on egos or risking being unloved by his favourites.

We've conceded the first goal in every game bar two of the eight games we've played against the four best teams apart from us, and the majority of those were as a result of poor preparation and ambling our way into those games half arsed. Only one of those games did we manage to convert to a win and one a draw. That's four points from those five games out of 15, against our biggest rivals. If you chuck Arsenal in there, the away game was another we just didn't compete in and were blown away first 45.

The problem is, it's not confined to our biggest rivals, it's just that they are far more likely to punish us and not let us recover from it. The fact that over last couple of seasons we are one of the best sides for recovering points bares out that we are often not starting games well.

I think our record and performances against the top sides are generally a quantum level up from anything that's gone before, and we are such a good team, and Poch is an excellent coach, who gets a shit load of stuff right, but this is an issue. Added to a general issue is some specifics this season; I think we have been more tactically predictable again, having reverted to the 4231 and the laborious midfield, but opponents know who will get picked every week because no matter who we add to our squad, Poch refuses to rotate or drop certain players or apply a different tactical approach.

Because we are so good, and a lot of what he coaches is so good, we can beat 75% of this league by turning up now, but the other 25% needs more than just turning up. It needs us to be smarter and apply ourselves better.
 

fortworthspur

Well-Known Member
Nov 12, 2007
11,244
17,536
I think City have a say in the outcome of the game, too. They are the best team in the prem by some measure, and had lost 3 straight. They were motivated and quite frankly the game had little meaning for us in terms of season objectives.
 

archiewasking

Waiting for silverware..........
Jul 5, 2004
7,848
11,668
I think City have a say in the outcome of the game, too. They are the best team in the prem by some measure, and had lost 3 straight. They were motivated and quite frankly the game had little meaning for us in terms of season objectives.

I can't agree with you there. We still had / have hopes of overhauling United and Pool to claim 2nd. City may have been motivated, but I was more annoyed by the fact we didn't really go for it at all and give them a game. The only good point is United playing on Sunday, so we didn't get someone else celebrating a title win on our pitch which wasn't us.
 

jonathanhotspur

Loose Cannon
Jun 28, 2009
10,292
8,250
This game is still bothering me, deeply. That we could be so ill prepared, so fucking shoddy about our work and repeat the same tactical cluster fuck as we have several times before is quite troubling.

I love so much of what Poch is about but his pandering to big reps, certain players being undroppable or beyond being bollocked or yanked early when they are clearly not working or doing what's expected is an issue. The very best managers make the toughest choices, even if it means treading on egos or risking being unloved by his favourites.

We've conceded the first goal in every game bar two of the eight games we've played against the four best teams apart from us, and the majority of those were as a result of poor preparation and ambling our way into those games half arsed. Only one of those games did we manage to convert to a win and one a draw. That's four points from those five games out of 15, against our biggest rivals. If you chuck Arsenal in there, the away game was another we just didn't compete in and were blown away first 45.

The problem is, it's not confined to our biggest rivals, it's just that they are far more likely to punish us and not let us recover from it. The fact that over last couple of seasons we are one of the best sides for recovering points bares out that we are often not starting games well.

I think our record and performances against the top sides are generally a quantum level up from anything that's gone before, and we are such a good team, and Poch is an excellent coach, who gets a shit load of stuff right, but this is an issue. Added to a general issue is some specifics this season; I think we have been more tactically predictable again, having reverted to the 4231 and the laborious midfield, but opponents know who will get picked every week because no matter who we add to our squad, Poch refuses to rotate or drop certain players or apply a different tactical approach.

Because we are so good, and a lot of what he coaches is so good, we can beat 75% of this league by turning up now, but the other 25% needs more than just turning up. It needs us to be smarter and apply ourselves better.
Watching the game a second time brought back memories of the junk Sherwood served up.
 

fortworthspur

Well-Known Member
Nov 12, 2007
11,244
17,536
I can't agree with you there. We still had / have hopes of overhauling United and Pool to claim 2nd. City may have been motivated, but I was more annoyed by the fact we didn't really go for it at all and give them a game. The only good point is United playing on Sunday, so we didn't get someone else celebrating a title win on our pitch which wasn't us.

I know what you are saying but I wonder if players care much about 3rd over 4th when the title is out of reach and CL is pretty much assured - with a massive game coming up in a week.
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
18,320
33,955
This game is still bothering me, deeply. That we could be so ill prepared, so fucking shoddy about our work and repeat the same tactical cluster fuck as we have several times before is quite troubling.

I love so much of what Poch is about but his pandering to big reps, certain players being undroppable or beyond being bollocked or yanked early when they are clearly not working or doing what's expected is an issue. The very best managers make the toughest choices, even if it means treading on egos or risking being unloved by his favourites.

We've conceded the first goal in every game bar two of the eight games we've played against the four best teams apart from us, and the majority of those were as a result of poor preparation and ambling our way into those games half arsed. Only one of those games did we manage to convert to a win and one a draw. That's four points from those five games out of 15, against our biggest rivals. If you chuck Arsenal in there, the away game was another we just didn't compete in and were blown away first 45.

The problem is, it's not confined to our biggest rivals, it's just that they are far more likely to punish us and not let us recover from it. The fact that over last couple of seasons we are one of the best sides for recovering points bares out that we are often not starting games well.

I think our record and performances against the top sides are generally a quantum level up from anything that's gone before, and we are such a good team, and Poch is an excellent coach, who gets a shit load of stuff right, but this is an issue. Added to a general issue is some specifics this season; I think we have been more tactically predictable again, having reverted to the 4231 and the laborious midfield, but opponents know who will get picked every week because no matter who we add to our squad, Poch refuses to rotate or drop certain players or apply a different tactical approach.

Because we are so good, and a lot of what he coaches is so good, we can beat 75% of this league by turning up now, but the other 25% needs more than just turning up. It needs us to be smarter and apply ourselves better.
Youre never gonna win every game.
And every team no matter how good has a bad day.
Not sure what point you are making.
Man City fked up twice against Liverpool.
Is Pep not a top manager at a top team?
Liverpool never beat us in 2 attempts.
Is Klopp not a top manager at a top team?
It happens.
I mean Man u are 2nd and just lost at home to bottom of the table.
Shit happens.
Its minimising that shit thats the trick and we're very good at it.
In big games like that literally anything can happen.
As when Liverpool played them I t have been shocked with a 4.1 scoreline either way.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
I think City have a say in the outcome of the game, too. They are the best team in the prem by some measure, and had lost 3 straight. They were motivated and quite frankly the game had little meaning for us in terms of season objectives.


Of course they have a say, but they were also more vulnerable than they had been for months, they are clearly in a bit of a funk. Both Liverpool and ManU smelt it.

There was no Fernandinho to hold their midfield together, if we'd have been a bit livelier and smarter we could have got amongst them and rattled them.

They were also highly motivated to get a result against ManU and coughed up a 2 goal lead there. The game had massive meaning for us, we still aren't guaranteed CL. It was our last "big" game this season effectively.
 

Disconosebleed

Well-Known Member
Dec 22, 2005
2,553
2,569
I love so much of what Poch is about but his pandering to big reps, certain players being undroppable or beyond being bollocked or yanked early when they are clearly not working or doing what's expected is an issue. The very best managers make the toughest choices, even if it means treading on egos or risking being unloved by his favourites.
Given that he's offered short shrift to established first teamers like Alderweireld, Rose, Walker and Dembele in the past, I don't think this is the case at all. It seems more likely to me that he trusts good players to find their way out of poor performances/form, and places more trust in, say, an out-of-sorts Alli to do well than any of the alternatives on the bench. You might disagree with his choices, but questioning his reasons for making those choices and implying they are down to a lack of bottle or playing favourites on a non-footballing basis just doesn't stand up at all when you look at his history at the club.

If your stance was correct, wouldn't Alderweireld have come straight back into the team once he was fit, given his fantastic reputation?
 

archiewasking

Waiting for silverware..........
Jul 5, 2004
7,848
11,668
I know what you are saying but I wonder if players care much about 3rd over 4th when the title is out of reach and CL is pretty much assured - with a massive game coming up in a week.

I think they do, yes. Not just professional pride, but Poch will hopefully drive them on. If there are cup semi-final and hopefully, cup final places at stake, I can't imagine any of the players will dare to take their foot off the gas. I guess we'll have a better idea when we've played Brighton.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Youre never gonna win every game.
And every team no matter how good has a bad day.
Not sure what point you are making.
Man City fked up twice against Liverpool.
Is Pep not a top manager at a top team?
Liverpool never beat us in 2 attempts.
Is Klopp not a top manager at a top team?
It happens.
I mean Man u are 2nd and just lost at home to bottom of the table.
Shit happens.
Its minimising that shit thats the trick and we're very good at it.
In big games like that literally anything can happen.
As when Liverpool played them I t have been shocked with a 4.1 scoreline either way.


The point I'm making is that this is not just about us having a random bad day. I think it is a repetitive issue. As I said, we are a very good team and Poch is a very good coach but coming out half arsed is becoming a bit of a thing.

Erm... FA Cup Semi-Final?

I meant league.
 

danielneeds

Kick-Ass
May 5, 2004
24,179
48,764
This game is still bothering me, deeply. That we could be so ill prepared, so fucking shoddy about our work and repeat the same tactical cluster fuck as we have several times before is quite troubling.

I love so much of what Poch is about but his pandering to big reps, certain players being undroppable or beyond being bollocked or yanked early when they are clearly not working or doing what's expected is an issue. The very best managers make the toughest choices, even if it means treading on egos or risking being unloved by his favourites.

We've conceded the first goal in every game bar two of the eight games we've played against the four best teams apart from us, and the majority of those were as a result of poor preparation and ambling our way into those games half arsed. Only one of those games did we manage to convert to a win and one a draw. That's four points from those five games out of 15, against our biggest rivals. If you chuck Arsenal in there, the away game was another we just didn't compete in and were blown away first 45.

The problem is, it's not confined to our biggest rivals, it's just that they are far more likely to punish us and not let us recover from it. The fact that over last couple of seasons we are one of the best sides for recovering points bares out that we are often not starting games well.

I think our record and performances against the top sides are generally a quantum level up from anything that's gone before, and we are such a good team, and Poch is an excellent coach, who gets a shit load of stuff right, but this is an issue. Added to a general issue is some specifics this season; I think we have been more tactically predictable again, having reverted to the 4231 and the laborious midfield, but opponents know who will get picked every week because no matter who we add to our squad, Poch refuses to rotate or drop certain players or apply a different tactical approach.

Because we are so good, and a lot of what he coaches is so good, we can beat 75% of this league by turning up now, but the other 25% needs more than just turning up. It needs us to be smarter and apply ourselves better.
You can look at it that way, or you can say we've met everyone in the PL, and played Dortmund, Real, and Juve this season, and only one team has had the clear, unequivocal beating of us. Just the one. Yes, there have been poor starts, and troubling periods of games, but really, to come out of this season, while playing at Wembley, and do what we have is truly incredible.
 
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