MISMANAGEMENT.

Well I worried it would happen didn't I, the international break would come and the momentum would go! This in my mind was totally avoidable though! So Pabs is driving me to my bro's to watch some dodgy feed of the Saturday 3 o'clock kick off with Palace (why they don't just grow up, get with the times and make that pay per view as we would between us have paid a tenner at least maybe more for: more clarity, no buffering and not having to switch feed with 20 minutes to go to French commentary, with my obviously fluent GCSE level French struggling to pick a word up!!!!)

Anyway I look on my Forza app and began to swear like fuck, and Pabs by now know's exactly what that means, as he turned to me stating: "seriously 4,4,2 with Yaya". At this point all my hatred for the tactical fool returns like a rush of blood to the head! Why, why, why ,why, why? With Silva and Sterling injured didn't he play Fernandinhio, De Bruyne, Yaya, Navas and Nasri in the midfield and then with Juventus on Tuesday rest Aguero and just play Bony up front?????!! Now this is not some retrospective analysis this I stated as soon as we arrived at my bro's. The fool hasn't got a clue how to squad rotate and adapt to his local environment! Play Bony, show him you want him and he is part of your plans, and in doing so play what looks like a rugby league player against a classic dogged premiership defence. Protecting your jewel who wouldn't begrudge such a move knowing he is being rested for Tuesday night, and finally resulting most importantly in playing 4,5,1 with Yaya.

However none of the above happens for the tactical fool hasn't changed has he! With his decisions and ability to rotate a team leaving us going around in circles! So what a 'huge surprise' Palace push us for most of the first half sapping us of our new found belief. Then something happens with actual short term benefits but ultimately would impact upon Tuesday night as Aguero somewhat predictably gets hacked down! His subsequent injury forcing the tactical fool to change the team to the one he should have started with and in my mind and those around me the switch saving us those 3 points, with eventually our exciting young talent Iheanacho securing them, just! Now how often can you say Aguero getting injured and being taken off actually gains you three points! However there is a huge down side to that as the tough little maestro's name is unable to be placed in the team for Tuesday night, and this is what drives my hatred towards Pellegrini and why I still whilst sat at the top of the league chose to highlight it and rightly so I believe for what we are achieving we are achieving despite Pellegrini, and what we are not quite fulfilling in our potential is because of him and that is my point!

So Tuesday night arrives and no Aguero, Bony somewhat out of sorts at this level with his touch and composure letting him down a bit. However I like him and believe he can deliver, his confidence just needs to be managed by targeting the games (such as Palace) to play him in and make him feel included in a team that by it's very nature has to be mainly set up in 4,5,1, and has one of the best strikers in the world at present with his talent alone demanding that he must play most of the time. So you pay Bony well, but you have to include him, you have to keep his confidence up, and you do this by knowing how to manage a squad which alas Pellegrini does not!

Also, as there has been with every team sheet he has ever put out, there's a tactical error even in the 4,5,1 set up, in that why start Nasri who at present looks slow and fat, instead of Navas? Now I know Navas missed that sitter at the weekend which my Mrs could have put in without her glasses on and in heels, but in general he's made a good start to the season and is ahead of Nasri at present in my mind. Also Navas would have offered penetration down that right side for by the 2nd half we looked like that impotent team from three seasons ago with all the possession but no penetration just loads of dead ends!

Which brings me on to the fact that both our fullbacks were dead ends at this level, as I have suggested would be the case in previous posts, with Kolarov often resorting to his old tactic of falling over to gain a free kick when he has run out of ideas and Sagna doing little if anything dynamic going forward. This is where you notice there is no Zaba as he overlaps so well going forward and can deliver that at the highest of levels. As well as the forgotten man Cliche who has more attacking options in his footballing brain at this unforgiving level than the choice of either smash it or fall over! Again in the pursuit of good squad rotation these two blockers are great for mid table premiership games and cover for bigger ones and should be used as such. With the latter being the case in this ill-fated night, but then your wingers have to penetrate which Navas would have done better and I think sterling shouldn't have been subbed because he did offer some penetration if not the final composure. Indeed this is the worry for both these wingers for they are dynamic but lack composure with their delivery of either a shot or cross.

So what do you need when things aren't going your way you need a manger who can stir you through passion and a belief in him to another level, obviously you know by now this I don't believe is the case! Also you need the ground to feel the importance of the occasion lifting the players to another level something I don't think we are managing successfully as a club and need to address. Yes due to tactical shortcomings Europe has become quite painful for us over the past few years but we need to somehow stop feeling sorry for ourselves and nervous. Yes I was happy to see us pretty much fill our increased capacity, which 10 minutes before kick off didn't look good as many were delayed by the pot hole collapsing again!! (With the first collapse resulting in my mate Jim getting stuck in traffic and missing the Chelsea game, how gutted was he! Which like I said in a previous post might have been my favourite game at the Etihad, something I remind him constantly!!!) However even with a full ground it was still a bit nervously flat! They didn't bring many and we should have given the top tier allocation of the south stand away to school kids or something for free. That won't solve it though I think it requires a plan from club management and to some degree the fans to make a bigger occasion of European games starting earlier and working around the drinking ban. Myself I now finish work early eat in town and meet everyone to make a bigger occasion of it, I'll have started drinking as soon as I get home and then continue in town and obviously always take my hip flask to lace two bottles of coke!! This time with vodka!! I know it can be easier said than done but I think there is too many people simply soberly rushing straight from work to their seat.

Indeed I think more needs to be done around the ground to encourage more of a big night party atmosphere on European nights. Myself I am not a fan of city square it feels like you are drinking in a bus stop or something and would always chose town or Mary D's over it pre-match. Indeed they need more design thought around the stadium and it doesn't have to morf into the modern look of the stadium it could be more cozy, cool and inviting in how it looks. If rumours are to be believed and Asda is going to be levelled and changed into an area of entertainment I hope they take that into account when they do it and don't just create something that looks like a shopping centre or bowling alley with loads of shit chain restaurants! Also you need to have good entertainment on early to get people finishing earlier and congregating around the ground earlier having a good time. If they can achieve this, this would help tremendously for we have gone backwards in atmosphere from the hope of the lights being lowered and the blue moon effect of a few seasons ago to the blue moon pre-match song petering out even before the sped up second verse, something that never happens in the premiership!

Anyway time to go for now, but plenty to think on and let's hope we bounce back against those East end wide boys!!

Colin Bell Stand, Third Tier.