ARM1968

You’re probably right.

The guy is immense and the stats appear to show that. A whole point less a game while he’s been out is ridiculous and I would doubt it is entirely down to his absence, but still. We need the guy fit and firing.

It was a gritty performance, but that was unnecessary. We had them on the ropes and then just stood back and let them come to life. Only their lack of quality and some luck saw the 3pts come our way. We’re playing a much better team on Saturday, what we showed last night won’t be enough. I’m hoping having Vesty back and Ndidi around will help. Also wary that Enzo threw Ndidi in to the mix out of desperation, but he seems to have come through ok. All we can do is keep the faith and hope we iron out the rough patch.

Vesty back, big plus. Ndidi unlikely to start but around, big plus. Tonight’s performance, joke. Saturday will be a lot tougher and it really shouldn’t be. All we can ever do is see how the dice fall.

I find this place confusing. We’ve all watched a lot of football. Most of us have followed City for decades. How is it some think we will gain confidence from that abhorrent performance? How can some not see the glaringly obvious? I would genuinely love to be so oblivious. Play like we did tonight and Hull will tear us a new hole. Play like we did tonight and we might just finish 4th.

If there was ever a game to show you that we aren’t winning the league, that was the game. First 10-15 mins we were sublime. Carried on like that, and we could have, we’d have won 3/4-0. Then the Enzo Italian factor kicked in and we went to sleep. 2nd half was diabolical. 3pts but my God we won’t get many more playing like that and the performance will not have instilled any confidence.

Of god Enzo’s gone full Italian on us. Stupid.

So we’ve done nothing this half except give Sunderland hope and confidence. Wonder if you’re all feeling what I am?

That first 10-15 minutes were electric. We absolutely went for it and battered them. Keep that up and it’s 3/4-0 at half time. THEN you can relax. This is why I’m finding Enzo so frustrating. Grrrr

Started off like a steam train and looked like we could blow them off the park. Get a goal and go back to sleep again. Why? It’s beyond stupid.

Rum lads, give me rum. I’ve got the horrors.

I was going to say that KDH has been crap recently, but wouldn’t be fair to single him out as he hasn’t been alone. Played some of our best football against Leeds and then fell apart. Still, we go again tonight. I’m fully onboard, fired up and ready. I expect the team to be the same.

It’s the Sun, just casting about for some doom porn. Put a bit more pressure on us. Empty if you ask me. We screwed ourselves over trying to keep to FFP.

It really is. Win all of our remaining games and we go up as champions. It’s simple 🤣

Because it’s a concentration of the most ardent fans. Always has been.

It certainly could be and I have said as much yesterday. I certainly think opposition tactics are playing a part with both Mavs and Fats.

From everything I had seen and read I was convinced Mavs was actually a bit shit when we signed him. In the main he has proven me quite wrong. He has been very good, but the last few games have seen a dramatic decline in his form. Same for a number of players. This can only be mentality and that is worrying. If you can’t feel confidence being top of the league, god knows how you’ll fare in the Premier League, where we will lose more than we win.

So Sunderland are in a mess? Poor form and can’t buy a win at the moment? Next up Leicester. Oh deary me.

Let’s hope we don’t have to find out, because, if we do it isn’t going to be at all good. Imagine trying to get promoted with a team half the strength of this one. Then it will get worse. Not at all pleasant.

It’s not like he has to come up with a whole new system. He needs to play the older heads and just tweak things a bit, mix it up. Possession is fine but step up the speed of things, be a little more direct at times.

It’s not even like it does what Enzo says he wants it to, pull teams around. They just sit back, stay compact and snuff us out. We haven’t got the guile and skilled enough players to make it work, nor those up front with the whit to see what such a player might create.

Financially the FA Cup is negligible and we aren’t going to win it anyway, it’s a distraction. Promotion to the Prem is THE most valuable thing in all football. Losing Ricardo is a disaster.

We certainly aren’t mentality monsters, to steal a phrase. However, I think the issue is simpler. Teams know what we will do. They know where our threats are. We’re easy to nullify precisely because Enzo is so rigid. It will take a spectacular bit of self awareness and personal honesty for him to change his approach, which he needs to do. We need the old heads on the pitch. We need to be a little more direct and aggressive. It doesn’t need wholesale changes, but in needs adaption. We will soon see. Play like we have been and our season collapses at Sunderland.

Are you having a moment? Pep is on record saying one of his main issues is tinkering with his lineups and tactics. That suggests a manger who looks at the opposition, his own team and then, if required, changes things up. Bit of a tough one to compare as few have Pep’s resources to be fair. So I’m saying he is a good manager BECAUSE he can adapt. Said it himself.

Would you agree or disagree?