AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City

Audenshaw Cherry said:
and IMO that is just delusional.

Yes we made mistakes, which we need to cut out, but Arsenal were never 'there for the taking'. They played exceptionally good, fast football against a team that could not cope with the pace of their play anywhere on the pitch.

We got a good beating but let's, please, not make out that we are sh*t or that we could have got anything out of that game. It would have been very, very tough even with the first choice players playing at the top of their game.

For the record IMO we will do exceptionally well to get anything out of Saturday's game. Hoping is great but expecting is a bit over the top.

:utc:
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Bit harsh. It's not delusional at all, in the context of the game. I wasn't "expecting" us to beat Arsenal; I think you've misjudged the tone of what I was saying a bit- I was just trying to be funny by being kind of overly snarky and apprehensive about the city game. However, once we got it back to 2-1, we were well in the game and the game was fairly balanced. If you look at the stats, we had an equal amount of shots, for example. The players weren't beyond getting a result at half time, and then 2 minutes into the second half the team switched off yet again and allowed Arsenal to put the game to bed. From this point onwards, is when Arsenal were playing their "exceptionally good fast football". Before that it could have gone either way IMO.

Honestly, and I'm not having a go here, I think the players would be more insulted with you implying that we could never, ever hope to get anything out of the game, and also that the players are seemingly beyond cutting out ridiculous, self-sabotaging errors, then they would be with me saying that, on the whole, they were pretty poor in many parts of their approach to the game. I know you probably don't mean that, but then I also never implied that we were s*** ;)

And hey, I definitely wasn't expecting a win, I was hoping for a good result and it didn't happen. Maybe "there for the taking" was a bit strong; I'll just amend that to "The game could have gone either way and then we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all".
 
Audenshaw Cherry said:
Arsenal - bang average. Oh OK, it must be me living in cloud cuckoo land. Fair enough I stand corrected. Happy clappy land it is for me then.

:utc:
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I'm not comparing them with Barnet. For example I believe Chelsea played better when we beat them 4-0.

It's all about opinions, it doesn't need to make anyone delusional or happy clappy but feel free to give me whatever label you feel comfortable with.
 
CherryBare said:
If we had Mings in the back 4/5 then suddenly we would look a lot stronger.....
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Agreed, with Cook out I think could have done with Mings, yes he plays the same position as Ake but I think Ake is versatile enough to play on the right of centre. Leaves Mepham very much thrown in at the deep end and he’s just come back from injury himself
 
Blockbuster of a start to Solankes career at DC ! £19 Mllllion Pounds.

£19 MiLLION POUNDS ! Christ! Pick this out Eder 'friggjn' son!

Tomorrow........I want to see this Post Humiliated by said Solanke!
 
As recently pointed out by someone, at least our goal difference is already completely shot, so it doesn't even matter if we lose 8-0.
Audenshaw Cherry said:
and IMO that is just delusional.

Yes we made mistakes, which we need to cut out, but Arsenal were never 'there for the taking'. They played exceptionally good, fast football against a team that could not cope with the pace of their play anywhere on the pitch.

We got a good beating but let's, please, not make out that we are sh*t or that we could have got anything out of that game. It would have been very, very tough even with the first choice players playing at the top of their game.

For the record IMO we will do exceptionally well to get anything out of Saturday's game. Hoping is great but expecting is a bit over the top.

:utc:
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Exactly.
We kind of need to accept that when a team like Arsenal is playing their best, we will never beat them (apart from some ridiculous run of lucky bounces or corrupt officiating I suppose).
The kind of amazing thing is that we actually CAN beat the top-6 sides, but this requires us to play our best (which, let's be honest, happens maybe 1 in 4 games) and them to not play their best.
 
The team basically has to get on the damn pitch and rip into the B' stards.....dont matter about no f' kin Top Six bollix....lose their tempers within the law...Ram it up the f'kers........
Weve Rock and Rolled friggin Chelsea....
Ive had a gutful of Sterling taking Bucketfuls of Piss from Dosset...Send the **************** back with his first Drought!
 
NWCherries98 said:
----------------Boruc----------------
Clyne-Mepham-Ake-Simpson-Smith
----Gosling----Surman----Fraser----
---------Mousset-------King---------

Subs: Begovic, Rico, Daniels, Taylor, Brooks, Ibe, Surridge

First off, flat back 5. No mucking about here, just make a wall in front of Boruc. Next, 3 man midfield. Gosling and Fraser can scamper around, kicking the City players and disrupting their awful sexy football. Don't give them any space, make them miserable. Win the ball, and then BANG! Fraser charges up the pitch, we hoof it into the channels, and we have three pacy players bearing down on them. If we lose the ball, or the attack breaks down, foul 'em. Rinse and repeat. If we're still in the game with 20 minutes to go, introduce the Welsh wizard into the equation. If the planets themselves align in the sky, we might just be able to shithouse our way to a point.

To not be utterly humiliated in this game, we need a few key things to happen:
- The midfield need to press City's midfielders to stop them dictating the game and to initiate counterattacks.
- Gosling needs to pass the ball out like a footballer, not like a toddler waddling around in his back garden.
- Ake has to step up and lead the defence, communicate with Mepham and Simpson and try and keep them organised. Mepham can't afford to go walkabouts like he did for Arsenal's first two goals.
- King and Fraser really need to step up their game. They're two of our most important players and have been playing well within themselves for weeks now, especially King. King would have been dropped long ago if we weren't so thin on numbers.
- Magic Moose. We need to coax the Mousset out that we know is in there. King is key to this; if King presses City and puts in the hard graft, Mousset will probably do likewise. If King mopes around, tries a few fAnCy sKilLZ and refuses to track back when needed, then Mousset will probably do the same. Thats just how he plays unfortunately. He needs to be led by example. Hopefully the goal gives him a confidence boost.
- Brain farts, goofs, unforced errors, whoopsies- cut them out! Professional footballers should not be attempting the sort of passes that Smith did vs Arsenal. They were there for the taking IMO, and we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all. Unacceptable.
- Linking on from the previous point, whatever the gameplan may be: just stick to it. If the plan is to sit back and frustrate them, do it. Don't attempt Hollywood Iniesta passes across your own back 4 like some kind of deranged maniac.
- And the most important point of all...DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE AWAY A GOAL AT THE START OF THE SECOND HALF.


If we can do all that then we might be able to keep the score down to 0-3.
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Just listened to Gosling’s post match interview from the other night on COWS - he was absolutely fuming over the performance and nobody sticking to the game plan at the start of both halves ....
 
It has been quite the combination of tough schedule, poor-ish play, injuries and (if I may say) Eddie not quite getting it right.

Tomorrow .... I will watch it cover to cover, cheer on the boys, and hope to get by without injuries. Leave Brooks on the bench .... March 9 is a new beginning.
 
3 hours to go...Im cramming as much positive thinking into my head as possible....if I hear one more fan say '" leave out Brooks...save him for the run in" or " the season begins after Man City". etc.....I will screw myself !

We could beat MC without Brooks somehow......and then lose to Huddersfield with him in.........its about the Whole Team.....and the effort.
The best chance of a shock is with as many as possible of our best players playing...the people paying to see it deserve that at the least!
I hate the ' free hit' mentality that is edging its way into our Psyche!
 
I don't think I have felt like this going into a game since the Groves / Brooks days. Normally I can get my cherry tinted glasses on at some point and find a glimmer of hope in our darkest runs of form. Today I feel like I have an appointment at 3 o'clock to watch someone drown some puppies.
 
Bitzer said:
I don't think I have felt like this going into a game since the Groves / Brooks days. Normally I can get my cherry tinted glasses on at some point and find a glimmer of hope in our darkest runs of form. Today I feel like I have an appointment at 3 o'clock to watch someone drown some puppies.
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Kittens.
 
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