PieFacE Posted October 21, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted October 21, 2019 3-0 win. Easy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 5 hours ago, VillaChris said: You really dreading it more than when we'd go up there under Lambert and lose 4 or 5? Our record up there generally is even worse than at Old Trafford in last decade. MON pretty much always lost there aswell. Ironcially our best showing was a 3-2 defeat in April 2015 when we played well and should've won, Tim Sherwood manager that day. We should have won that game if it weren't for terrible officiating if I recall. Grealish was unplayable that game. That was when that christmas tree formation under Sherwood was looking really dangerous. We have a better team now. I feel like if we set up like we did against Arsenal, we can make things interesting. Now that we're a little more streetwise, I can see us narrowly losing 3-2 again or maybe even sneak a 2-2 draw. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 I would go with: Heaton Konsa Engels Mings Guilbert Targett Nakamba SJM Trezeguet Grealish Wesley A 3-4-3, a bit like Chelski used to play. I don't think Smith will though - he seems pretty (overly IMO) wedded to a 4-3-3. If it is a 4-3-3, I would start with Trez and Lansbury instead of AEG and Hourihane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 I don’t understand some dreading this ? In the first place, we are a decent side who could Win. More relevantly, it doesn’t matter what happens negatively, doesn’t matter at all. We can play poorly, we can lose 6-0, we can fail to get a shot, it’s irrelevant. Many teams have got and will get trounced at The Ethiad. It’s really of no consequence if it happens. Conversely, if we DO get anything, it’s a huge bonus. Of course it’s not going to be fun stood there if we are poor, but I shall handle it far easier than if we are poor at, say, Newcastle. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 They are without question the best team in the league. Stupidly good. But I think between now and Christmas both them and Liverpool will drop points nobody expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted October 21, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) I'm usually a "never change a winning team" -believer, but this is different because of the level of opposition. I'd give a chance to Elmo instead of Guilbert and Luiz in place of Hourihane. Also Davis in for Wesley. A bit of strength in defense and some running power up front for counters. Edit: actually, I'd keep both Hourihane and Luiz in the team. If Jack can land us a couple set pieces, they could be our chance. Hourihane with his left and Luiz with his right. So, El-Ghazi out and Luiz in for this game. Edited October 21, 2019 by AVTuco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaluke Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 3 hours ago, sir_gary_cahill said: My team would be: Heaton Guilbert Engels Mings Targett McGinn Nakamba Luiz Trezeguet Wesley Grealish Subs: Steer, Elmohamady, Konsa, Taylor, Lansbury, El Ghazi, Davis i understand dropping Hourihane but how can you not have him on the bench?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sir_gary_cahill Posted October 21, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted October 21, 2019 Just now, villaluke said: i understand dropping Hourihane but how can you not have him on the bench?! I think Lansbury is better than him, that’s why 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 4 hours ago, Teale's 'tache said: I think we'll play a bit of a mix to be honest, there will be some counter attacking, there will be some long balls, and if we are allowed at any point, a bit of possession football would be nice to take the pressure off, it's important as a team we manage the game correctly and choose the correct style of play to suit the situation. The reason I think there's a chance the fullbacks could be changed is mainly due to positional discipline, Taylor stays as close to Mings as he can and avoids going over the half way line if at all possible, Elmo gets forward a little more from full back but also tries to tuck in next to his center half, Guilbert and Targett are both better footballers but leave a lot of space in behind them. If Smith wants to shut down the space down the sides of his center halves and on the wings in general, he may go for the more experienced duo, he may may go the other way and maybe use an extra defensive midfielder to give the attacking full backs more cover. Depends how he wants to play it. As for team/formation, something like this... I'd love to of kept Hourihane in for his set pieces, I just feel Luiz is a better with the ball at his feet under pressure, and we'll need to be keeping hold of the ball as much as we can. Engels isn't French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic09 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 I'm dreading this too. If Man City fail to win, Liverpool might win the league 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 7 hours ago, sir_gary_cahill said: My team would be: Heaton Guilbert Engels Mings Targett McGinn Nakamba Luiz Trezeguet Wesley Grealish Subs: Steer, Elmohamady, Konsa, Taylor, Lansbury, El Ghazi, Davis You really don't rate Hourihane do you? Of course Conor has his faults as a player but he's proven himself at all three levels below premier league and also regular for ROI. So much better career than all the endless youth products that end up in league 1, 2 or even lower. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 5 hours ago, terrytini said: I don’t understand some dreading this ? In the first place, we are a decent side who could Win. More relevantly, it doesn’t matter what happens negatively, doesn’t matter at all. We can play poorly, we can lose 6-0, we can fail to get a shot, it’s irrelevant. Many teams have got and will get trounced at The Ethiad. It’s really of no consequence if it happens. Conversely, if we DO get anything, it’s a huge bonus. Of course it’s not going to be fun stood there if we are poor, but I shall handle it far easier than if we are poor at, say, Newcastle. Worry for me is a major thrashing and that could set us back a bit, particularly with Liverpool the following week. If you remember to the first season under Lambert we were actually starting to look a reasonable mid table team when we were to Anfield and outplayed them and won 3-1. Then of course Chelsea happened and the world caved in for pretty much three months. It always seemed a feature of Lambert reign that we'd have little spells of good results and starting to inch forward then we'd play a top 6 team, get spanked and then we'd have months without a win or even scoring a goal. This has also happened under Dean Smith. Last season we were on a nice run up to middle of December, then Leeds did us from 2 up and we then played like a pub team for the next two months. Sometimes when things are going well a really bad defeat can knock you quickly off course so past experiences are biting hard I'm afraid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 2 hours ago, VillaChris said: Worry for me is a major thrashing and that could set us back a bit, particularly with Liverpool the following week. If you remember to the first season under Lambert we were actually starting to look a reasonable mid table team when we were to Anfield and outplayed them and won 3-1. Then of course Chelsea happened and the world caved in for pretty much three months. It always seemed a feature of Lambert reign that we'd have little spells of good results and starting to inch forward then we'd play a top 6 team, get spanked and then we'd have months without a win or even scoring a goal. This has also happened under Dean Smith. Last season we were on a nice run up to middle of December, then Leeds did us from 2 up and we then played like a pub team for the next two months. Sometimes when things are going well a really bad defeat can knock you quickly off course so past experiences are biting hard I'm afraid. It really just coincided with Grealish and Tuanzebe getting injured. We had no defence and no creative talisman. They both come back and we immediately go on a 10 game winning run. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zab6359 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I really don't see DS making any changes to the team, maybe Trez for AEG as he will track back much better, however after 60 minutes Trez is usually Knackered! Really can't see any other changes DS doesn't do more defensive! I just feel if we press as high as we did against Brighton we will pay the price and Marvelous will end up run ragged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyjavfc Posted October 22, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted October 22, 2019 Connor needs to start for me. City are a dirty side and we will get set pieces in range of their goal. Set pieces will be an important element of our attack if we are going to get anything from this game. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedClaretAndBlue Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I reckon we'll nick a point if they go down to 9 men with 70 mins left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robtaylor200 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) I would play Davies to start in this one and bully them a little, Let them know we are there, kick them off the ball a few times and make them look out for were we are Edited October 22, 2019 by Robtaylor200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 9 hours ago, VillaChris said: Worry for me is a major thrashing and that could set us back a bit, particularly with Liverpool the following week. If you remember to the first season under Lambert we were actually starting to look a reasonable mid table team when we were to Anfield and outplayed them and won 3-1. Then of course Chelsea happened and the world caved in for pretty much three months. It always seemed a feature of Lambert reign that we'd have little spells of good results and starting to inch forward then we'd play a top 6 team, get spanked and then we'd have months without a win or even scoring a goal. This has also happened under Dean Smith. Last season we were on a nice run up to middle of December, then Leeds did us from 2 up and we then played like a pub team for the next two months. Sometimes when things are going well a really bad defeat can knock you quickly off course so past experiences are biting hard I'm afraid. Fair enough if you feel that, I personally think in the case of Lambert results just reflected we were an average and inconsistent side, and with Smith he over achieved in his early days then came good as his coaching and the return of Jack and Axe paid off. Loads of teams get a hammering every now and then I’ve seen no evidence it derails their season. Finally, I’d say we are a completely different Club in all respects now ( certainly to the Lambert years when we were in deep decay) and better equipped in all regards to deal with bumps in the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 5 hours ago, zab6359 said: I really don't see DS making any changes to the team, maybe Trez for AEG as he will track back much better, however after 60 minutes Trez is usually Knackered! Really can't see any other changes DS doesn't do more defensive! I just feel if we press as high as we did against Brighton we will pay the price and Marvelous will end up run ragged! I agree changes will be limited - he doesn’t change much without good reason. We won’t necessarily press as we did against Brighton....he certainly changes our approach depending on the opposition. We played very differently against Spurs and Arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Pretty much this. Yeah it's a real possibility that we end up destroyed and totally dominated, but it won't define our season. On their day City have the quality to pot double figures past a team like us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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