Manchester City v Watford - 8pm GMT Weds 14th Dec - Premier League Match Day Thread

Skoorb

Skoorb

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It's a MDT Lite for this game as time is against me!

Has anyone recovered from the first 5 minutes of Saturday's abject performance against Leicester? Many Blues probably thought they were dreaming as City's tissue paper defence simply dissolved in the first few minutes of the match. A feeling which returned before 20 minutes were out when they were sliced apart again to make the deficit 3-0. Unfortunately it was all too believable.

Manchester City's very own 'Nightmare Before Christmas'.

City return to Sandcastle Etihad for the visit of Watford Town this Wednesday for the latest instalment of Pep Guardiola's Great Experiment in the Premier League Football Laboratory. It used to be that the tension before a game built to maximum as we approached kick off. That feeling has now shifted 60 minutes earlier when the latest jumble of names are drawn from Pep's Mysterious Tactical Sorting Hat and we all try to guess exactly which player will be playing where. And for how long.

The game is not being televised and I am having a serious internal monologue as to whether I have the courage to try and find a stream to watch the game. Such is the level of my discouragement at the nature of our play last weekend and the disheartening manner in which we were eviscerated that I am questioning whether I have the stomach to face devoting another 90+ minutes of my life to the same sense of anxiety and frustration I experienced on Saturday evening.

For views on some of the implications drawn from the 'performance' against Leicester check out the 'Three things we learned' thread here ---

http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=32823&posts=15

Watford arrive sitting in a comfortable 7th place in the league and they will be relishing the opportunity to play City right now. In fact most teams and their fans will be eagerly checking the fixture list to see when they will be facing Manchester City. No longer with a sense of foreboding but with an eagerness and excitement that usually accompanies and looking forward to their side ripping our defence to shreds. Deeney may well return for the Hornets but during his absence Okaka didn't do a bad job last weekend where he scored two goals in their defeat of Everton. The first one was a peach - check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W4TML_TjkU

I hope our 'defenders' have been watching.

City will still be without Aguero and Fernandinho as they continue their domestic suspensions. The latter was sorely missed against Leicester although whether he could have single handedly prevented the rot is unclear. Iheanacho was simply bullied out of the game last Saturday. Playing against strong, experienced central defenders he didn't get a look in as City's players endlessly and fruitlessly recycled the ball in the latest version of Pep's latest formula "Possession Without Purpose' (PWP). Someone seriously needs to man up and tell him that the are no prizes, NONE, for being the team that has the highest possession statistics at the end of the season. We had the ball for 78% of the game last weekend. Yes, a breath taking SEVENTY EIGHT PERCENT........and did precisely nothing with it until Leicester switched off having resorted their 3 goal advantage. The faith of City's supporters could be tested yet further as our coach sticks to his guns and continues to mix and match his player ingredients and formations in the search for footballing perfection.

Otamendi is likely to return after serving his one match ban. For all his faults he provides a bit more steel than we witnessed with Sagna and Kolarov last Saturday.

No stats necessary in the MDT - apart from having no time to collate them.

A resounding 6-0 win would be a welcome relief but any kind of win would be welcomed.

Come On City!!!
 
I have lost my faith in Pep and because we seem to be all over the shop instead of having a disciplined back line whether it is four five or whatever, they need leadership and we don't have that.

I just can't see us winning by anything other than a narrow margin and only if we score first, otherwise it could be another long night. The only other saving grace is it's not on the box so we will be saved from another butt **cking on live tv
 
We need to revert to a 4-1 4-1 formation. Our defence and keeper are not good enough without VK to run with a back three. Watford are doing way beyond expectations this season and the pressure is all on us, so it may be another frustrating game for us to endure. I would play the Dog as the shield of a back four, I have little faith in Fernando, chin up Skoorb, we may get that 6-0 win?
 
Can't see us keeping a clean sheet, Troy Deeney is 1 goal away from 100 for Watford and he hasn't scored in 10 weeks.

6-1 maybe?
 
Something you put on your bed once every few weeks.

Certainly nothing I associated with Manchester City any longer :017:
 
Seeing as our last one came on the 29th of October I can only assume the kids in Manchester cut holes in them all for Halloween so they're in short supply.
 
To say that I am apprehensive about tonight's match would be an understatement of extreme proportions. I am sad to say that my confidence has been shaken by the last performance and I am anticipating an early "get in their faces", high energy assault from the Watford players. It's what I would be urging if I were the opposition manager. A sort of "they don't like it up 'em Mr Mainwaring, sir" type of dressing room speech could be appropriate if Walter Mazarin had any idea who Corporal Jones was......

In all serious, I hope our players are prepared because if they think they can just dilly-dally on the ball and pass it found in neat, every decreasing circles trying to achieve maximum Possession Points (do you think there is a chart in th dressing room with a possession stat target for each game?).............I suspect they will be rapidly disabused of the idea that they will have an easy time. I expect Watford to be right at it from the first whistle.

#badfeeling

:062:
 
I hope Pep watch the Cherry- Foxes match, to see how you beat them. Back four tonight or will we find the stubborn Pep demanding they get it right and you will only do that if you only we had a back three worthy of playing that way.
 
There is a huge difference between being a full back who can fill in temporarily as a centre back as part of a back four........and plying as one in a three at the back set up. It seems neither Sagna nor Kolarov (who the hell was the imposter taking his place early in the season?) are able to do so. Deeney will be licking his lips at taking on our defence.
 
I don't think Pep is going to do a back three with Nico back so I expect a 4-1-3-1-1 and hope he plays De Bruyne in a more central role than out on the wing.
 
KDB is SO much better when he is played centrally. He can never influence the game anywhere near as well from out wide.
 
My prediction was for us to lose 0-2 - I was, at the time in a bloody mood following the weekend's Leicester City humiliation. I'm not going to change my prediction, nevertheless for fecks sake....
come on Pep and come on CITY.
 
We'll shortly be seeing what impact Leicestergate has had on our manager's mindset. Thereafter the mental strength of our team. I think we need an early goal more than anything else in the bid to get our mojo back. Come On Blues, believe, get angry, get tackling and give Watford the works!
 
The tackling revelation that we are the sixth poorest tacklers in the PL with only 239 all season has stunned me and gone completely against what Pep told us in his first interview. "I want the ball back."
 
City Staring XI: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Gundogan; Toure, Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva; Nolito

Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Fernando, Navas, Sane, Stones, Iheanacho
 
Does he think Stones's confidence took a massive hit after his back pass was intercepted for the 4th Leicester goal perhaps?

Stones did look mortified.....
 
City Staring XI: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Gundogan; Toure, Sterling, De Bruyne, Silva; Nolito

Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Fernando, Navas, Sane, Stones, Iheanacho
 
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