Oh i agree about the system being more important than the players. But what i meant earlier is that any player regardless of their skillset has to be in good form in order to thrive in any system. The trick with any team is to get them to operate at say 80% of their ability. I feel the likes of Gerrard and Lucas are operating at maybe 60% or less. They're not anywhere near their best and if the other team can operate at higher level despite having an inferior squad (tho that Southamton team was pretty strong) than we are always going to struggle against them.

Wow i can't believe we short of a playmaker and Moyes is just letting Kagawa rot on the bench.

And Jovetic is still on the bench. City's depth is immense.

Nevermind Sturridge. Suarez is back!

The guys has been caged like the animal that he is He has had this itch he could not scratch, the urge he could not satisfy. I'm hoping it will translate into some footie madness. Just no biting!

Bro lets be honest. If that was Aspas or Charlie Adam, we would say a lot more than just criticizing him. I don't forget his contribution to this club and he will always be a legend in my book but poor performance is just poor performance. We have to consistent with our criticism regardless what no jersey he wears.

Ofcourse i'm not putting all the blame on Gerrard. I'm only saying his form has been very sluggish and being a central midfielder, it's his job to control the tempo of the game. No one else can do this in the team but him. I realize that soemtimes crap just hits the fan and there's not a whole lot you can do about it. I don't think he needs to be dropped for good but he does look somewhat jaded and could use some rest. It's almost criminal that we are playing him for the whole 90mins week in week out. Remember what happened to Lucas ? The guy never gets injured but Kenny kept playing and playing him, then bam. Torn muscle.

First San Siro win for Napoli in 27 years. They started well, lightning quick build up and scored at the 6th minute. I always found Higuain unimpressive at Real, but he seems a different player at Napoli. He's actually quite fast. And the way he surged into Milan's half , bypassing his own midfielders and bringing the ball towards the goal at pace was amazing. Never knew he had that in him. Pepe did well too, Balotelli must had been really annoyed haha.

Yeah mickey cup is near pointless but i think we may underestimate the psychological impact from this kind of match. Both teams do not want to lose 2 games on the trot and will be looking to rebound. We don't have to put a strong team and i don't think BR will. I reckon it will be a good mixture of youth and experience. You don't want to put a young team and get them demolished - that would be a terrible management. Winning this match will give much self belief to our youth and the senior players will bring this confidence into the next match.

Agreed. We shouldn't look at it as an obstacle but rather an opportunity.

I only saw glimpses to be honest but then again i never really followed Real. One week it was Benzema and the next Higuain. But seems like a really good striker.

Good point. I also think Aspas was decent against Soton. My main problem with him in previous matches is that he was very slow both in mind and in movement. But against Soto he started playing a lot quicker and resorting to cheeky flicks. I think Suarez loves that kind of quick play.

I think saying either Kenny or Rafa never gave youth a chance is a bit harsh. We need to remember that Suso and Sterling were only 16 year old or so when Kenny was in charge and even younger during Rafa's time with us. Having said this, a young team consists of mostly 18 year olds would not bode well with Rafa's football. Mainly because Rafa's method of play is way too complex and punishing for young players. They need to be fully conditioned for it and that requires muscle and endurance development. And tactical understanding is only gained through years of experience and mental maturity.

But other than that, i agree that the entire team ranging from players and manager had played a part in our defeat to Soto.

Ahh ok. I thought you were talking about bringing in youth. But Rafa almost always made his first sub at 60min mark followed by the second at around 80min. He did this almost routinely. But Kenny yes, sometimes he left it way too late to make any changes and it did frustrate me too.

The likes of Mata, Silva, Kagawa, Benayoun and Remirez are small scaled. It's what they do on and off the ball that matters. Suso is still 19, his development has quite a bit to go. He needs game time and i think BR realized that hence the loan. He could get gametime with us in hindsight, but i think a loan spell in Spain was the best option for him. It's a league where players are protected by the referee and where technical abilities reign supreme.

Hoping he comes back twice the player.

I believe the second or third option is meant to be Alberto and Hendo. Having bought Alberto, I'm guessing BR rated Alberto higher than Suso. Hendo's versatility and robustness means he's also the preffered player over Suso. I like Suso and i think he's got a lot of potential but he's the youngest of the lot so a loan option is probably for the best; both for the club and the player.

I think this interview sheds some insight as to why we are playing a deep 4231 and why we are stagnating in terms of movement and creativity. I know he's been championing the 433 but the lack of dynamic midfielders means he can't really put his ideas into practice.

I think he may envision Gerrard as the deep controller in 433 but Gerrard doesn't control games through tempo. Then there's the 2 support CMs or box to box midfielders. Lucas i think can't play this role - We spent years converting him to a traditional DM that he's now more suited as a deep anchor type midfielder in 4231. You need midfielders with great mobility and endurance to work as a unit in 433 i.e. look at Spurs with the trio of Paulinho, Dembele and Sigurrdson. I think the players suited to this role are Henderson and Allen. Hendo has great engine but is not a great ball carrier. Allen is not great in the air, but he has both engine and the ability to carry the ball.

So now we have defaulted back to 4231 but as he said in that interview, the 2 CMs move sideways, so most of the attacking movement comes from the central attacking midfielder. But the lack of a genuine playmaker means there's a gaping hole between the midfield and the forward players. Not a good situation to be in.

WTF. It's the mancs. We don't ever throw a game to the mancs no matter how shite our team is. Even the under 18 and reserve team take it seriously. To not take it seriously is against the very fiber of this club.

Gerrard has no natural position. He can play wherever you put him provided the team has the balance to accommodate him. He was our top scorer when Rafa shafted him outwide - scoring over 20 goals that season. He became even deadlier when given the free role behind the striker. Now it can be argued that he's got no legs to run like he did, but i would argue perhaps its time to use him sparingly as an impact player where his short burst of energy can still overwhelm most defenses.

Pastore is like a more robust Aquuilani. Good feet and passing but just like Aquilani, most managers don't really know how to make full use of players of this ilk.

Exactly. I think the CM requires more immediate attention than the AM. Lucas looks a bit jaded and Gerrard does not control the midfield. That leaves Hendo and Allen, both seem more like back up players rather than the backbone of any formations we plan on using. We need someone who is athletic yet dominant on the ball. I would be surprised if we go for Pastore and still leave the midfield threadbare.