opinion pole

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@Hush_Kit Pretty basic answer but the SR-71 is just so cool.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@RohanJivanAFC Agreed, bit more interplay (inc. for the penalty), looked threatening in the channels + set up our best chance for Odegaard. Shame Martin can’t finish like he used to.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@YankeeGunner On one hand it’s credit to Mikel and Edu that they built a top tier side on the cheap through coaching and elite defensive talent. On the other hand, this strategy seems to cap out lower than elite attacking sides.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@YankeeGunner Some of it is money, our payroll is a good £50-100M below our rivals in PL/UCL and it shows acutely in attack, especially when our big money players (Saka, Kai, Jesus, Odegaard) can’t stay fit. Nelli, Vik and Noni are bargain bin players and not terribly good ones either.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@GeorgeMavropou3 @scottjwillis imho neither the role or the system, just our whole front line (including Gyokeres) has been grinding through the campaign without consistent form / fitness. he’s done OK to finish the chances he gets, but certainly should be expected to create more shots for himself.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@timstillman_ Argy-bargy in the mixer is a pure form of football predating just about every rule of soccer including “the goal”. Gabriel would be recognised as a great footballer at any point in the last 1000 years. Arteta could coach a win in Atherstone. This is lindy and good.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@kunley_drukpa

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@scottjwillis the chart including half spaces appears to be chelsea by mistake.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@scottjwillis quite funny that chelsea could be doing as well as city but for their shin kicking

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@RohanJivanAFC I feel like the talk of “performance” is mainly just that we don’t have the goal threat for the level we’re competing at. The flaw of this team is not in tactics but squad building - 250m on Havertz, Gyok, Eze and Noni and our games are still set pieces + Saka inshallah.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@RohanJivanAFC I think the core issue is that we just have very mediocre forwards which makes scorelines tight and invites pressure. Nobody is scared of players who score once a month. Our great defence carries us most weeks but with fatigue, pressure and variance they can crumble.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@scottjwillis @_TheUnserious Pretty sure Ricky means City are up vs Arsenal this season on points from fixtures both teams played. But I will say this is a comparison that flatters City as some of their bad performances are excluded as Arsenal haven’t played those fixtures yet (Brighton and Spurs).

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@themagic_tophat

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@saundzo Someone please explain this to Martinelli. Kid’s like top 1% for carries into the box, can’t remember the last time he won a pen…

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@RohanJivanAFC Then you have Kai for big games or when we need something different (mainly crossing) to unlock a defense. Add a third “prospect” striker to replace Jesus and fight Vik for “easy” minutes and we’re good!

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@RohanJivanAFC I don’t think he especially suits how we currently play, and he bounces off high lvl oppo, but I think he can be a *fine* player to start most games outside of top 4 PL / QF Champs games and get us 10-15 goals in all comps.

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@Onesto_analyst @fbref Such an interesting angle to investigate, love to see a ranking with some surprising names on top! Only suggestion would be to include the “overall” score in the combined table - right now you can’t see the metric that the list is sorted on!

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@scottjwillis

[opinion pole @bluntoni]

@YankeeGunner