Tudor
Vital Football Legend
Another cracking MDT, written by Skoorb.
Albion sit 13th in the Premier League table having secured only two victories - on the opening day away against Palace and in mid-September when they put 4 past the misfiring West Ham. Prior to their defeat at Anfield last weekend they had been undefeated in four games with three consecutive 1-1 draws which included holding Tottenham at the Hawthorns. Rest assured they will be no “push over” and I am convinced that Pep knows this already - he needs no lectures from all and sundry in the media about how there are “no easy games in the Premier League” and “he can’t expect teams to roll over for him like they did in Spain and Germany”. I am just as certain that Pep never expected any team to roll over against any of his sides and that the victories which they enjoyed were the as much the result of his preparation, tactics and efforts of his players as any perceived capitulation by his opponents. No team sets out to lose a game but they might lose heart if they are playing without the ball for long periods and unable to gain a foothold in the match. But just as it is difficult for the media to embrace Guardiola’s thinking on how football should be played I guess it is similarly a step too far to expect them to avoid their clichés.
With Barcelona arriving at the Etihad on Wednesday for the Champions’ League group stage return fixture Guardiola will be hoping that none of his squad are on the end of the sort of ‘robust’ challenges for which Tony ‘take no prisoners’ Pulis’s sides have been renowned over the years. On that score however there is a feeling among some Blues that City need to develop a harder edge to their game. The first half last weekend saw them pretty much bullied by Puel’s Southampton players who gave no quarter and who were not averse to leaving a foot in early doors when the referee was likely to be more lenient. When City came out for the second half and finally started to give as good as they got it seemed that this, combined with the increase in the tempo of their play, helped them to gain the upper hand and deliver a much needed improvement in their performance.
For me this was a sign that whilst the players have had the benefit now of nearly 4 months of Pep’s coaching, they seem have been prone to lapsing into old ways and slowing the build-up. The number of times against the Saints when they simply failed to progress the ball forward quickly enough and allowed the men in red and white stripes to regain their well drilled defensive positions had me nearly chewing lumps out of the sofa. Indeed their goal might also be an example of this ‘dawdling’ (or the clichéd ‘overplaying’ so popular with the hacks) when Stones, with his wingback Sané still high up the pitch and unavailable to receive a forward pass, the young man looked inside played the ball behind his team mate - a misunderstanding borne of lack of serious game time with his defensive partner Vincent Kompany. The rest is history and was a Godsend to the hacks.
That City have lost their fluidity and confidence is not perhaps a surprise - that can happen when results don’t go the way you want. This can have a corrosive effect on a team and the passes that previously fizzed into a team mate’s feet and stuck are now being under hit or mis-directed and the freedom that we witnessed in the early weeks of the season has evaporated.
City has won all of the last 6 encounters between the two sides scoring 17 and conceding only 5 goals.
No better time to extend that sequence to seven.
Come On City!!!
Team News:
Man City:
> Out - Sagna
> Doubtful - Zabaleta; Delph; De Bruyne
West Brom:-
> Out -
> Doubtful - McClean
De Bruyne and Zabaleta remain doubts for this fixture. The club has decided to hold the Jovetic Award* ceremony early this season so that Fabian Delph has somewhere to watch games that he can call his own and ffee up space in the dressing room. They have also decided to rename the award The Fabian Delph Trophy.
*This is based upon the length of time you spend in the company of the medical team as a proportion of your contract.
For West Brom McClean faces a late fitness test otherwise Tony Pulis has a full complement to select from.
League Standing & Form:
01 Manchester City P9 W6 D2 L1 GF20 GA09 GD +11 Pts 20 Form WWWLDD
13 West Brom P9 W2 D4 L3 GF10 GA10 GD 0 Pts 14 Form LWDDDL
Overall Form:
Manchester City P16 W10 D3 L2 GF35 GA17
West Brom Albion P10 W2 D4 L4 GF12 GA12
Previous meeting (last 6 matches):
EPL 09/04/16 Man City 2 West Brom 1
EPL 10/08/15 West Brom 0 Man City 3
EPL 21/03/15 Man City 3 West Brom 0
EPL 26/12/14 West Brom 1 Man City 3
EPL 21/04/14 Man City 3 West Brom 1
EPL 04/12/13 West Brom 2 Man City 3
Goals - City 17 West Brom 5
Y Cards - City 4 West Brom 7
R Cards - City 0 West Brom 1
Top scorers (all comps):
Manchester City - Aguero 11; Sterling 5; Nolito 5; Iheanacho 4
West Brom - Chadli 4; Rondon 3; McAuley 3; McClean 2
Albion sit 13th in the Premier League table having secured only two victories - on the opening day away against Palace and in mid-September when they put 4 past the misfiring West Ham. Prior to their defeat at Anfield last weekend they had been undefeated in four games with three consecutive 1-1 draws which included holding Tottenham at the Hawthorns. Rest assured they will be no “push over” and I am convinced that Pep knows this already - he needs no lectures from all and sundry in the media about how there are “no easy games in the Premier League” and “he can’t expect teams to roll over for him like they did in Spain and Germany”. I am just as certain that Pep never expected any team to roll over against any of his sides and that the victories which they enjoyed were the as much the result of his preparation, tactics and efforts of his players as any perceived capitulation by his opponents. No team sets out to lose a game but they might lose heart if they are playing without the ball for long periods and unable to gain a foothold in the match. But just as it is difficult for the media to embrace Guardiola’s thinking on how football should be played I guess it is similarly a step too far to expect them to avoid their clichés.
With Barcelona arriving at the Etihad on Wednesday for the Champions’ League group stage return fixture Guardiola will be hoping that none of his squad are on the end of the sort of ‘robust’ challenges for which Tony ‘take no prisoners’ Pulis’s sides have been renowned over the years. On that score however there is a feeling among some Blues that City need to develop a harder edge to their game. The first half last weekend saw them pretty much bullied by Puel’s Southampton players who gave no quarter and who were not averse to leaving a foot in early doors when the referee was likely to be more lenient. When City came out for the second half and finally started to give as good as they got it seemed that this, combined with the increase in the tempo of their play, helped them to gain the upper hand and deliver a much needed improvement in their performance.
For me this was a sign that whilst the players have had the benefit now of nearly 4 months of Pep’s coaching, they seem have been prone to lapsing into old ways and slowing the build-up. The number of times against the Saints when they simply failed to progress the ball forward quickly enough and allowed the men in red and white stripes to regain their well drilled defensive positions had me nearly chewing lumps out of the sofa. Indeed their goal might also be an example of this ‘dawdling’ (or the clichéd ‘overplaying’ so popular with the hacks) when Stones, with his wingback Sané still high up the pitch and unavailable to receive a forward pass, the young man looked inside played the ball behind his team mate - a misunderstanding borne of lack of serious game time with his defensive partner Vincent Kompany. The rest is history and was a Godsend to the hacks.
That City have lost their fluidity and confidence is not perhaps a surprise - that can happen when results don’t go the way you want. This can have a corrosive effect on a team and the passes that previously fizzed into a team mate’s feet and stuck are now being under hit or mis-directed and the freedom that we witnessed in the early weeks of the season has evaporated.
City has won all of the last 6 encounters between the two sides scoring 17 and conceding only 5 goals.
No better time to extend that sequence to seven.
Come On City!!!
Team News:
Man City:
> Out - Sagna
> Doubtful - Zabaleta; Delph; De Bruyne
West Brom:-
> Out -
> Doubtful - McClean
De Bruyne and Zabaleta remain doubts for this fixture. The club has decided to hold the Jovetic Award* ceremony early this season so that Fabian Delph has somewhere to watch games that he can call his own and ffee up space in the dressing room. They have also decided to rename the award The Fabian Delph Trophy.
*This is based upon the length of time you spend in the company of the medical team as a proportion of your contract.
For West Brom McClean faces a late fitness test otherwise Tony Pulis has a full complement to select from.
League Standing & Form:
01 Manchester City P9 W6 D2 L1 GF20 GA09 GD +11 Pts 20 Form WWWLDD
13 West Brom P9 W2 D4 L3 GF10 GA10 GD 0 Pts 14 Form LWDDDL
Overall Form:
Manchester City P16 W10 D3 L2 GF35 GA17
West Brom Albion P10 W2 D4 L4 GF12 GA12
Previous meeting (last 6 matches):
EPL 09/04/16 Man City 2 West Brom 1
EPL 10/08/15 West Brom 0 Man City 3
EPL 21/03/15 Man City 3 West Brom 0
EPL 26/12/14 West Brom 1 Man City 3
EPL 21/04/14 Man City 3 West Brom 1
EPL 04/12/13 West Brom 2 Man City 3
Goals - City 17 West Brom 5
Y Cards - City 4 West Brom 7
R Cards - City 0 West Brom 1
Top scorers (all comps):
Manchester City - Aguero 11; Sterling 5; Nolito 5; Iheanacho 4
West Brom - Chadli 4; Rondon 3; McAuley 3; McClean 2
