Featured: That was the week that was (Oct 3-9 2020)

[tlw content]

 

Saturday Oct 3:

 

City are held to a draw by Leeds in a wild end to end game that could have ended up 5-5. Guardiola’s reaction afterwards was in stark contrast to last week after they were hammered by Leicester. He spoke of how refreshing it is to see a team go for it like Leeds did. 

 

Yeah, he’s saying that because he loves Bielsa and he’s also doubling down on his dig at Brendan from last week. Such a twat. 

 

Almost as big a twat as Richard Keys. He’s just the fucking worst isn’t he? But he does provide some inadvertently amazing comedy at times as he’s such a thick, old school, stuck in the past cunt. Today we might have actually reached ‘Peak Keysy’.

 

Him and Tefal Head were talking about City’s defensive problems and Gray threw in the old lazy “he maybe needs someone to come in and work with the defence” to which Keys immediately jumped in with “Sam Allardyce”. This is the most scorching of hot takes. I don’t think there is any suggestion he could have made that would have been funnier or more ridiculous, and I don’t even mean that as a dig at Allardyce.

 

Fat Sam can organise a defence but he does it by having the whole team play a specific way, and that way is about as different as Guardiola’s style as it’s possible to be. It’s mental that Keys, a man who has made his living presenting football and being surrounded by people who know what they’re talking about, hasn’t learned a single thing about the game. 

 

It’s impressive in its own way, as you’d thin it would be impossible for at least some knowledge to rub off on him. It clearly hasn’t though because he thinks Sam Allardyce (and he also mentioned Roy Hodgson!) could go into City, work with their back four and solve all their problems.

 

This is the kind of take that even Adrian Durham would be too embarrassed to share, and that’s a fella who a year ago claimed Tom Davies could be better than Stevie Gerrard.

 

Anyway, have a look at this because it really is something else. Even Andy Gray is embarrassed by it.

 

 

"He could bring Sam Allardyce in on a temporary basis"@richardajkeys offers Pep Guardiola some advice on how he could fix @ManCity's leaky defence.#beINPL #PL #LEEMCI HD11 pic.twitter.com/YcapARFliE

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) October 3, 2020

 

Also today, Layton Stewart, who I mentioned last week as a possible factor in the club being willing to let Brewster leave, bagged a hat-trick today. That’s two hat-tricks in three games for him now. Not sure why he isn’t in the u23s already to be honest, as they don’t have a proper striker.

Sunday Oct 4:

 

Villa 7 L 2. Tell you what, I’m glad I didn’t take the piss out of United for letting in six earlier in the day. I don’t think I’ve ever been as stunned by one of ur results as I am today. We’ve had some bad defeats over the years and conceding six in Stevie’s last game was bad, but we were shot then. This was utterly mental because we’re so good.

 

How can it happen? Firstly, empty stadiums are skewing everything right now. Some players just aren’t the same without a crowd. Since footy came back there have been games when Van Dijk has looked like he’s in a training session. In fact, he’s probably more focused in training sessions. It’s most of the team though. Some games we’ve looked like our usual selves but there have been others when the intensity just isn’t there. And when the intensity isn’t there we’re not very good. We need that. It’s what makes us special.

 

Everyone will blame the defence today and it’s true that they didn’t cover themselves in glory. But there was no pressure on the ball ahead of them and Villa were able to break on us at will. We lost the ball far too cheaply, didn’t win it back and then didn’t get into the positions we needed to be in. The defence was shite (especially Gomez and Trent) but they had no protection either, and there’s plenty of blame to go around today.

 

We probably needed this. It’s a massive kick up the arse and is probably better than if we’d lost a narrow one, 2-1 or 3-2 or something. This will have embarrassed the players and it will have shown them that if you aren’t right at it then bad things can happen. Maybe they’d forgotten that due to the incredible run they’ve had over the last couple of years, but this is now a chance for them to refocus and get back to what makes them great.

 

Having Hendo back will make all the difference as this just wouldn’t have happened on his watch. He’ll have been fucking fuming watching this and I expect him and Milner will have had plenty to say. I wouldn’t want to be playing us next, that’s for sure.

 

*checks fixture list*

 

Ha! The derby at Goodison. If we were going into that flying we’d no doubt throw in a clunker and draw 0-0 as usual. So to be going in after a shameful result like this probably helps us. 

 

 

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[Anubis]

I think it was Leicester, not Leeds, who voted against it.

 

Arsenal also seem to have fucked-off Ozil’s offer to save Gunny, simply saying he’ll be back once fans are allowed back in but not saying if it’ll be the same guy or some YTS kid.

[Dr Nowt]

RIP Gunny. Goodnight sweet Prince.

 

[dave u]

2 hours ago, Anubis said:

I think it was Leicester, not Leeds, who voted against it.

 

Arsenal also seem to have fucked-off Ozil’s offer to save Gunny, simply saying he’ll be back once fans are allowed back in but not saying if it’ll be the same guy or some YTS kid.

 

Sneaky fuckers.

 

Ozil took all kinds of shit for refusing a paycut but from what I read he wanted guarantees that they wouldn't lay off staff if he agreed to it, and they wouldn't promise anything so he said no. And then they laid off staff, proving he was right not to trust them.

 

I read on twitter it was Leeds. Can't remember who it was reporting it though.

[suzy]

I’ve definitely heard it was Leicester who voted against it.

[alles ist gut]

Top, top Özilnomics analysis there, Dave.

[Arnaud]

How’s your mum, Dave ?

[Vincent Vega]

No “That was the week that was” this week Dave?

[dave u]

Didn't bother as there was virtually nothing happening. I wasn't watching any international games and the whole Big Picture whatever the hell it's called just bored me completely and I had no interest in writing about that, so I decided to just skip the week and pick up again from this weekend.

[aws]

That was the week that wasn't.