My expectations were simply for MM to stave off relegation. Anything else is a bonus.
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What a silly post. You obviously haven't been paying proper attention over the last 11 games. You do realise that we changed our manager and the way we play 11 games ago, don't you ? The first two games of those weren't classics but the team battled and worked hard and in one came back from 2-0 down to get a point. That was all about stopping the rot and not losing after a very poor run. Since then there have been two recent poor away games, in which we got a point in both, against difficult opponents and where the performances were obviously influenced by injuries and tired legs after a number of games in a short space of time. The other 7 games were all high scoring wins with plenty of nice passing and movement and pressing the opposition. We are second top scorers in the division and have a centre forward who has scored 16 goals. Possession stats mean absolutely nothing, if all you do with the ball is pass it back and forth across the pitch or backwards, as a number of teams have done against us. We have picked up 25 points out of the last 33 on offer and you don't do that in this division by playing ‘garbage football’ as you put it. Please explain how we were outplayed by Derby, Preston, Luton or Bristol City in games when we scored a total of 12 goals and let in precisely 0. We also beat promotion favourites Bournemouth on their own pitch. Something tells me that you still wouldn't be happy if we were top of the league by 10 points.
My expectations were simply for MM to stave off relegation. Anything else is a bonus.
We had less than 30% possession at home to Derby, played them off the park and won 4-0. I was ecstatic, as were all my friends who watched. You obviously weren't, for some unknown reason. Vaulks, Pack, Ralls, Bacuna and Wilson have all played well in midfield recently. Are you sure that you were watching the right games ? Derby had 73% possession in that game and achieved ..... absolutely nothing.
All you lot saying you’re happy to see us having 30 per cent possession really mean you’re happy if we’re winning when we have that amount of the ball - what is enjoyable about seeing your side get beat when they have so little of the ball?
Nothing. But there is nothing enjoyable about your team having 90% possession and losing either. Thats not the point. The point is that you don't have to have the majority of possession, or anything near it, in order to play well and win. I don't go to games expecting my team to have the most possession. I go wanting them to win and hoping they play well in the process but that's not the essential bit.
Surely the location on the pitch of the possession should be taken into account. 70% sounds great but if a large chunk of it was attained knocking it about just outside your own box it means bugger all. Just listening to the pundits after the Manchester derby and they’ve mentioned that Man City had around 70% possession, make of that what you will given the result.
Vaulks, Pack,Ralls, Bacuna and Wilson have all played well recently? I beg to differ. They might have had the odd game where one or the other them did ok but thats about it. What i have seen of Wilson is that he is overated and Vaulks does nothing. I watch the games and i feel frustrated as im sure many city fans are. Sorry mate we have not had a midfield for a few seasons now.
So, what is 30 per cent possession more likely to give you? A defeat or a victory? Don’t get me wrong, the Derby game was a masterclass in showing that less can be more when it comes to possession, but Huddersfield are an exception to the norm in being in a relegation struggle when their average possession figure is the second best in the league and 30 per cent possession week in, week out will surely see you closer to the bottom of the league than the top.
If you are going to say daft things like Wilson is over rated and Vaulks does nothing, then how can anyone take you seriously. Wilson has 4 goals and 9 assists, Pack and Vaulks has been man of the match on a number of occasions. You will be saying next that Moore isn't a goal scorer. Did you see Wilsons goal against Luton, curled in with his left foot from outside the box ? Or the ball he put through for Moore to score against Millwall. Or Murphys forty yard cross field pass to Bennett against Rotherham in the last minute. Or Bacunas 2 goals against Derby. How many points out of the last 33 on offer do you think City should have got - 32, 33 ? We have scored 23 goals in the last 11 games and only let 7 in. You will never be happy.
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with possession stats. Huddersfield and Derby are examples of why it means very little. If we played like we did against Derby every week we would be top of the league by miles. Its what you do with the possession you have that counts. Teams like Derby, who mess around with it at the back and pass it back and forth between midfield and the goalie get absolutely nowhere. We had 65% possession away to Wycombe this season, played very badly and deservedly lost !
I think we will fail , to be fair its more entertaining than it was , is it short lived, probably .
Looking forward to next year .
Yes I agree. Possession stats are based on the number of passes each team makes , not the amount of time they are in possession of the ball. I watched the Derby game and they were awful, the worst team I have seen this season, they just passed at the back because they didn't know what to do with it! 12 passes and we don't touch the ball means they have 100% possession. We nick the back and make one pass and score an they still have 91% possession but are 1-0 down. Daft.
As for the comment about the performance of certain players I think we should be grateful for what we have. McCarthy has Vaulks and Pack playing really well, and Bacuna was excellent last week when he scored two. They can't all play fantastically all the time. Criticising them when we are eleven unbeaten is bit silly. It could have been better but we could have been a heck of a lot worse too.