TomSutton

Players lost faith in him completely here will be surprised if he makes it to West Brom if we lose this which we should

My word this is grim viewing isn’t it

I’ve had an absolute disaster there I’ve got the box sets and all. gutted with myself to get that wrong

I prefer Eat My Cheese

I must admit I do find it confusing from Ian. if you have a club source who would rather be anonymous (BT) then defending them blind saying they had no involvement with the LM appointment is completely bizarre. It’s as though he doesn’t realise people have sussed out who it is giving him information and instead of now balancing it out and at least attempting to make it seem as though BT is not the source he’s doubling down and making it worse. It’s like some sort of Alan Partridge skit

Ah I see completely agree on trends it’s not a surprise to me that when an elite team has success in a certain shape or rotation of play then other teams do take inspiration from this and although they won’t copy it they will make small adjustments however the concept behind it (eg an extra body in midfield) remains the same.

For U12 they are not allowed in training to head the ball more than 12x a week. the way Man City play are unique and you make a good point about Doku who’s best ability is his 1v1 dribbling. Although the quality Man City possess allows them to have wingers with different attributes. Foden coming inside and finishing, Grealish ability to gain fouls and retain the ball etc. LM is far off copying that like you say due to them being Man City and us being who we are that level of tactical rotation is only possible in a team of world class players

There are outliers but on the whole I think wingers currently aren’t being utilised as “traditional” wingers at the top level of the sport. those who play 4-3-3 e.g liverpool, Madrid etc those wingers cut in to fill the half space and attack between the full back and the centre back as it forces the centre back to often defend on his weak foot.

All down the trends set by top managers at the elite level that trickle down. the idea of wingers only is effective if you are crossing into the box which is a dying art currently as headers are being phased out of the game particularly at youth level where they are only allowed to head the ball 12x a week. now you have a wing back which is viewed in a similar mould to wingers. These players are typically superb athletes who can run run and run they will cover ridiculous distances a game 10-13k. They are usually asked to take the opposition full back on which is what a winger does best but yet they have more defensive responsibilities than said wingers who like to stay high and wide. This high and wide doesn’t work anymore as the game has become so tactical with much of the individuality taken out of the attack for a more methodical tactical build up of play. For example, when defending rather than the man-marking system teams now opt for a defensive block per se so they defend an area on the pitch. If one player does not defend their “area” as they are high and wide the other 9 outfield players will have to compensate for this and not be able to defend their individual area as well as the zone they are covering has increased. that being said there are always trends in football so currently we are in the centre back bringing the ball out, inverted full back to create an extra body in midfield to overload the opposition rather than taking it to the outside of teams.

It was Scattered Dream and I was absolutely in stitches for ages as I saw you laughing as well as Ian just almost in a state of shock while trying to maintain calmness but you could so tell it affected him

I do agree if you’re spending time doing something you’re passionate in and it’s doing no harm it’s all good. Even if we had no one listen we would still gather and speak our opinions as it’s something we care about. If it’s not for you I completely understand but you don’t have to listen or engage with what we post and none of us will hold it against you. For some I understand you don’t agree with our opinions and may think we are speaking on topics we’re uneducated on as none of us are professional we don’t claim to be. it’s something we care about and I enjoy coming on the forums and the podcast to speak about city as I’ve changed so many of my opinions due to others views some things resonate with you and makes sense some doesnt that’s perfectly okay.

In some ways I think Ian allows us to bounce off him and his let’s say alternative views at times it creates a debate I’m not sure how entertaining it would be if we all held the same views in truth. Although saying that there *should* be reason for why you hold that view that can be explained that’s where it starts to get a little irritating for some I imagine as a few on here have said that he says a lot without actually saying anything. In truth I actually do like Ian although I know many don’t and although he’s a polarising figure I get on with him but maybe I’ve just not been around long enough yet

Personally I’ve loved coming on the podcast. It allows all of us to express opinions on something we are all very passionate around and actually allows for some pretty interesting debates alongside getting to know other city fans better through it (many friendships have been formed through various podcast esc things). David as a lot know puts a lot of hard work into it you should see some of his notes when I get there in the morning pages long of various stats and figures and the work he as well as Mark and Ian (I know Ian hey…) has been paying off as numbers are going up which shows there’s a market for it. Certainly not in it for money and I can completely understand if the four or five or whoever’s on that pod doesn’t appeal to you as we can only cover our views. None of us are professionals at this but we hold a common passion for city hence why I love doing them.

Didn’t get him coming on at Rb if anything Roberts was the one absolutely blowing after 60 mins didn’t put another sprint in past 75. McCrorie can do a full game so leave him on the pitch. Agree R.E Cornick game was not suited to him yesterday I actually thought bringing him on was the correct thing but by 70 he had been on the pitch for nearly 50 minutes and had not grown into the game at all. Twine being on the bench yet quite clearly not being fit enough to come on says a lot around how Manning views the current state of the 21s which are a bit of a dead crop now and it seems we are just waiting for the 18s to be ready. All the subs who came on yesterday did not make an impact in fact I feel worsened us as a collective I would’ve left Mehmeti 1v1 against Jimmy Dunne who was awful for them a real clumsy footballer. Just highlighted our offence weaknesses yesterday, lack of an incisive passer who can play on the floor through back lines (twine, KP to an extent esc) and pace while being in control on the wing as Mehmeti and cornick both lack pace. Mebude has pace but not the control and it was clear we singled out dunne as their weak link and to try get in behind him with bells pace. That unfortunately went to pot after the injury and we just didn’t have a plan b players didn’t look confident in playing through the pitch as QPR defended narrow. what we were left with was a slow casual sideways passing approach waiting for a magic moment which never came

It’s the U18 crop that are a fantastic group (ahead of their age). This doesn’t mean they would currently be anywhere near the level required technically and physically for Champ football just means they are ahead of where is targeted relative to them. They are only 17/18 so I wouldn’t expect so see the majority of them until the 25/26 season where they would be in their late teens and then featuring more heavily in first team.

Knight so so much better when playing in the central 10 looks so much better through the middle then having to stretch the pitch with that line run

Cornick fantastic best half I’ve seen him have for us there should have had an assist there for bell. Look so much better when letting Pring occupy their full back and finally we are using our left side effectively. Forcing them to go wide so defensively for the most part looked in control of our box. Great half all round

The rule is already in effect for teams playing below Hellenic or Toolstation leagues. So for the Bristol area that would be Somerset and Gloucester leagues. From that perspective, I understand the rule refs are normal people typically mid to late twenties or early thirties who do not deserve to be abused by players of course at no level is this admirable. But in truth this blue card should not happen in professional football. These refs are mostly all full time which means it’s their sole responsibility to control the game and the conduct of players. It is not as though they have to rely on second jobs for income which may distract them from improving. There is already a solution for dissent it’s a yellow card. Remember king got sent off for dissent and a tactical foul in his first season with us at home. From my perspective it appears that the league are rather than trying to better the quality of reffing which is dire currently they would rather mute those on the pitch to not criticise them. From a fan perspective it is clear when a foul has been committed (95% of the time) but we will have no idea around this blue card if it’s for dissent. It’s not exactly like the players can even contest it either otherwise they are endangering themselves. In conclusion, I understand it for the times where refs are just normal people who just turn up on the Saturday, but when it’s your job you have to be able to control the game and thus the players on it. Yet again it’s a move away from taking any blame on the refs head.

Thankfully we don’t have AW anymore or we would be playing game after game with 10 men that man must have been the refs worst nightmare

Ah I see thanks for clarifying I thought you mean there was rules against it. Like you point to in a previous post it’s not worth the cost of it particularly for a mid table championship team like we are due to staff costs and the upgrades of facilities

With the loaning of those players I didn’t realise they had to stay in house, would it not be possible to like they already do train with the relevant age group and with their respective club they are on loan and when applicable and then play for them on the Saturday? thinking of Ted Curd who’s a Chelsea goalkeeper who was on loan at Hashtag United who’s step 3. He’s on a pro at Chelsea and would train with them when it was possible while playing regular men’s football while he was not in international duty for England u18

Having played for a Cat 2 like academy I have to agree it has that real cup final moment feel against a cat 1 or a quality cat 2 as like with us currently on paper we have a cat 1 quality academy in terms of production and talent but the cost is substantial of running it. to my knowledge, one of the key reasons we are not Cat 1 is due to the fact that we do not have a full sized dedicated indoor training pitch. Personally, I feel the whole Cat system is a judgement on how good the facilities are rather than the talent production as evidenced by the fact we have the most “club trained” players getting minutes for the first team despite not being a cat 1. the lure of playing for those academies are the facilities of course and you’re sold a dream. One of those I know is at Chelsea now having played for the youth teams at city on a pro deal and the figures he earns for a teenager are frightening and in truth I don’t believe beneficial to the teens at all. We have all been 17-18 and know how nice it is to show your mates your new clothes or shoes or bike but to have thousands of pounds pumped in (not including sponsorships too) it must take your mind off the football.

Benarous was superb too. Potentially you have a point, I must say though for an u18 squad this is the most well rounded team I remember us having. Kasakove at 16 has all the attributes to be special and with his frame I’m in no shock prem clubs are after him. Could make points around the whole team (Morrison,Meerholz,Anderson etc). While that 19/20 squad did have a few real quality players the way this current crop doesn’t have one player below bar and the strength on the bench we have in the likes of Ali to come on we have so much to be positive around. When a lot of this team make the transition into u21 football next season I hope many take that next extra step towards to first team spot.

Great post. Tough to see Yeboah through the middle not sure that’s his best position, like you say Morrison superb which is great to see as he’s just coming back from a serious knee injury and numerous other knocks. Would be interested in your take on Bak I really rate him hasn’t come up in the traditional youth system I remember playing him when he was Weston Super Mare. Broke into their first team start of this season (National League South) and scored. Was soon signed up from city, you see plenty of these players get hardened through the non league system who go into thrive due to their physical nature at academy level which while more technical is typically no where near the physical level. Like all the team still so young but he will only grow into his frame we just have to hope he doesn’t become another Louie Britton who showed all the promise but when push came to shove didn’t have it and now applies his trade and Maldon and Tiptree after failed moves in the Irish Premier League and being moved on from Marine in his second season.

swindon have a really strong academy. Twine potentially the strongest to come out in recent years but they’ve had many cases of 17-18 year olds moving on to a CAT 1 academy such as Southampton. Its catchment area is huge hence why they do have many good young players for them, saying that this is the most talented age group of 18 year olds we’ve had in a long time Morrison being back is a huge bonus if you get a chance see his goals yesterday. Unless we were to get to the semi final which is a distinct possibility I can’t see us hosting it at AG as good as it would be although the demand to watch our 18s is rising massively with the last three YAYC games being sold out.