Zonal Marking Shine A Light On The Citeh Game

[White Noise]

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/11/22/fulham-1-4-manchester-city-tactics/

[sipwell]

Mancini didn't really have good faith in Duff, did he? Davies "blocked" by two players, Duff could stand where he wanted. Nobody had to check on him.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

The most important tactical mistake was playing a 4-4-2 against a 5 man midfield, especially as we had no one sitting in front of the defence. The more I think about it, the more I cannot believe that we were so idiotically gung-ho about the whole affair. I am hoping that Hughes had his judgement clouded because of his past with them and wanted to 'teach them a lesson' so that in future he does not make such terrible tactical descisions.

[epsomraver]

so that in future he does not make such terrible tactical descisions.so that in future he does not make such terrible tactical descisionAMEN TO THAT

[RidgeRider]

Does this shine the light on MH's tactical naivete? I can't believe for the life of me that a man of MH's experience could have been so out coached. RH would have likely played for a 1-0 win and would have had our defense tight for a match against a team like Citeh.

Is this a simple function of no longer having the right pieces and old legs (some suggest such) or the other view that MH has tried changing too much for the type of players he has (my opinion) and has show his overall inexperience as a manager when he doesn't have top talent.

I realize he did a job at Blackburn, but that was a different group of players, more negative football, somewhat thuggish I would say.

We'll have to see how the next two teams exploit us to see he responds.....or doesn't. Not a fan right now but prepared to give him till January.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Does this shine the light on MH's tactical naivete? I can't believe for the life of me that a man of MH's experience could have been so out coached. RH would have likely played for a 1-0 win and would have had our defense tight for a match against a team like Citeh.

Is this a simple function of no longer having the right pieces and old legs (some suggest such) or the other view that MH has tried changing too much for the type of players he has (my opinion) and has show his overall inexperience as a manager when he doesn't have top talent.

I realize he did a job at Blackburn, but that was a different group of players, more negative football, somewhat thuggish I would say.

We'll have to see how the next two teams exploit us to see he responds.....or doesn't. Not a fan right now but prepared to give him till January.

The other reason Roy would have frustrated them is that if you look at their form, if they fail to score early on, you can usually snatch a draw if not a win.

[RidgeRider]

Does this shine the light on MH's tactical naivete? I can't believe for the life of me that a man of MH's experience could have been so out coached. RH would have likely played for a 1-0 win and would have had our defense tight for a match against a team like Citeh.

Is this a simple function of no longer having the right pieces and old legs (some suggest such) or the other view that MH has tried changing too much for the type of players he has (my opinion) and has show his overall inexperience as a manager when he doesn't have top talent.

I realize he did a job at Blackburn, but that was a different group of players, more negative football, somewhat thuggish I would say.

We'll have to see how the next two teams exploit us to see he responds.....or doesn't. Not a fan right now but prepared to give him till January.

The other reason Roy would have frustrated them is that if you look at their form, if they fail to score early on, you can usually snatch a draw if not a win.

Exactly. So why take risks when you don't have the horses to win on pure 'God given' talent? Having Etuhu and Murphy, tackling to win balls and using AJ and Demps to chase from the front, to disrupt a talent laden side, seems to me, would have made more sense to keep them from building any confidence in the match so that we could then use that frustration against them later in the match. I am talking out my arse I realize but this what Roy would have had them doing. He knows we don't match up to teams like Citeh.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Does this shine the light on MH's tactical naivete? I can't believe for the life of me that a man of MH's experience could have been so out coached. RH would have likely played for a 1-0 win and would have had our defense tight for a match against a team like Citeh.

Is this a simple function of no longer having the right pieces and old legs (some suggest such) or the other view that MH has tried changing too much for the type of players he has (my opinion) and has show his overall inexperience as a manager when he doesn't have top talent.

I realize he did a job at Blackburn, but that was a different group of players, more negative football, somewhat thuggish I would say.

We'll have to see how the next two teams exploit us to see he responds.....or doesn't. Not a fan right now but prepared to give him till January.

The other reason Roy would have frustrated them is that if you look at their form, if they fail to score early on, you can usually snatch a draw if not a win.

Exactly. So why take risks when you don't have the horses to win on pure 'God given' talent? Having Etuhu and Murphy, tackling to win balls and using AJ and Demps to chase from the front, to disrupt a talent laden side, seems to me, would have made more sense to keep them from building any confidence in the match so that we could then use that frustration against them later in the match. I am talking out my arse I realize but this what Roy would have had them doing. He knows we don't match up to teams like Citeh.

My theory is that Hughes dropped the ball because he was so desperate to make a point he was blinded by the right way to play against them. He wanted to prove that he could be an attacking  success without start players.... unfortunately for him it backfired massively. I actually felt a bit sorry for him at the end of the first half as he had made a right fool of himself

[HatterDon]

Jack, nobody could have forseen that EVERY SINGLE move into our half would result in either a goal or a save. How you can fault Hughes for NOT knowing that would happen and adjusting for it BEFORE the fact escapes me.

Mr. Book, I dont think any manager worth his salt is going to abandon his game plan after an early goal by an opponent. After all, the best way to insure that you beat an opponent is by making him play your game instead of his. Fulham's somewhat spirited fightback in the 2nd half is a little testimony to Hughes's coaching acumen, but realize that City's 2nd half goal resulted from their ONLY shot on goal in that period.

Finally, this isn't so much a tactical failure as it is a strategic reality. Not only do you have Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, and David Silva running riot on the pitch, City as able to give a "brief run out" at the end of the match to players like Adam Johnson [for my money the best English player in the game right now] and David Milner.

You can analyze Hughes's coaching failures all you want, but his major STRATEGIC mistake [if you want to call it a mistake] was to sign on to manage a club with limited resources available in terms of transfer fees and pay packets.

We got our asses handed to us, gents, but we were beaten by a far better team built with obscene amounts of money. If we had beaten them, we'd have been celebrated like Birmingham City was. It's just a thang. Someone will pay for it, I don't doubt in the least.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Jack, nobody could have forseen that EVERY SINGLE move into our half would result in either a goal or a save. How you can fault Hughes for NOT knowing that would happen and adjusting for it BEFORE the fact escapes me.

Mr. Book, I dont think any manager worth his salt is going to abandon his game plan after an early goal by an opponent. After all, the best way to insure that you beat an opponent is by making him play your game instead of his. Fulham's somewhat spirited fightback in the 2nd half is a little testimony to Hughes's coaching acumen, but realize that City's 2nd half goal resulted from their ONLY shot on goal in that period.

Finally, this isn't so much a tactical failure as it is a strategic reality. Not only do you have Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, and David Silva running riot on the pitch, City as able to give a "brief run out" at the end of the match to players like Adam Johnson [for my money the best English player in the game right now] and David Milner.

You can analyze Hughes's coaching failures all you want, but his major STRATEGIC mistake [if you want to call it a mistake] was to sign on to manage a club with limited resources available in terms of transfer fees and pay packets.

We got our asses handed to us, gents, but we were beaten by a far better team built with obscene amounts of money. If we had beaten them, we'd have been celebrated like Birmingham City was. It's just a thang. Someone will pay for it, I don't doubt in the least.

I can accept that they were excellent and that money has allowed them to do this, but at the same time Hughes did not perform to the best of his abilities in terms of tactics. Not playing a defensive midfielder for one and then hitting long balls to AJ. Whose fault is it? I am just trying to figure out how a team with one of the best defences over the past few seasons and a reputation for excelling against better teams, folded so badly on Sunday. Yes Man City's millions are one factor, but there was more too it than that. By your reasoning we should be happy losing like that to any team that spends more money than us.

[RidgeRider]

Good points Mr. Hatter but every draw and every loss is being chalked up to the other guys being "up to it" on the day or just better than us.

We almost never let that be an excuse the last two seasons when we were beating Liverpool, Arsenal or United or drawing with Chelsea. Every week now, it is the other team who were better on the day, sans the Wigan match, or just plain they are a better squad than us.

I was driving to LA Sunday and at Disneyland yesterday, so I am just now getting the chance to voice my disappointment.

[Burt]

I was driving to LA Sunday and at Disneyland yesterday, so I am just now getting the chance to voice my disappointment.

Plenty of scope here for some gags linking our peformance on Sunday to Disneyland, methinks.

[timmyg]

The most important tactical mistake was playing a 4-4-2 against a 5 man midfield, especially as we had no one sitting in front of the defence.

Villa did this and almost won with a bunch of 15-year olds.