{"id":2416,"date":"2021-02-21T20:40:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T20:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2416"},"modified":"2021-02-25T02:19:31","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T02:19:31","slug":"just-when-you-think-you-are-holding-a-salmon-sterling-leaps-over-your-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2416","title":{"rendered":"Just When You Think You Are Holding A Salmon\u2026 Sterling Leaps Over Your Head!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"Bnc-mzWHQQp1MpoQF5cLXg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1303335219\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Bnc-mzWHQQp1MpoQF5cLXg',sig:'ZzQ0ZiSl9dcmHJ7Ln64Ezcru7WrpWJFRQy25h8XaXTs=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'1303335219',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>This afternoon we lost a strangely subdued game against quite possibly the best side in the world on current form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to start with that piece of perspective before digging a bit further into what happened and what we might make of it. Indeed, before the game there were many fans who would have been happy to take a single goal loss, so I hope we don\u2019t get too disheartened by the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I actually thought it was possible we might nick something today and so to lose by a single goal, especially given the way we conceded it, is frustrating. But not really a surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before kick-off the team was hard to guess. As it turned out ESR was dropped to the bench and P\u00e9p\u00e9 started on the left. Elneny came in for Ceballos whilst Tierney, Holding and Mar\u00ed all started in defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The biggest incident of the game came only two minutes in. After a bright start City\u2019s excellent Ruben Diaz switched the ball out wide to Mahrez on our left. Perhaps Tierney could have got closer to block the cross but if you get too close to Mahrez he has a tendency to slip past you. As it was, only Sterling and Bernardo Silva were in the middle, with our two centre-backs and Bellerin covering them. I\u2019d be happy for Mahrez to cross that ball 99 times in 100. Today, however, was the hundredth time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From that point on we have to look at Rob Holding because the defending is just diabolical. He is in a good position. He has a look to see where Sterling is. And then he just lets the little inside forward drift into space behind him and jump unchallenged to score what turns out to be the winner. Holding is a hard-working player who has been quietly efficient this season, so I don\u2019t want to go to town on him but this is just awful, awful defending. If Sterling had outpaced him after getting in behind him then fine, no-one is going to complain that Rob isn\u2019t the quickest player. But this goal is infuriating because week after week we have seen Holding make a series of fantastic headed clearances. He is good in the air and should beat Sterling without even needing to jump. It is a poor mistake and not the first time recently he has failed to mark his man in the box. He must improve because this should be bread and butter to him. (No Jon Moss, go away. I am not giving you any bread and butter.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright, we\u2019ve all seen it. Enough said. We will have to draw a line under it and Rob will have to make sure he is ready when next called upon. It is, however, worth noting that in the 88 minutes that followed City were poor by their own standards yet their centre-backs were excellent and never switched off. That is how you win things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rest of the match was a bit strange really. At first, they looked like they might score a hatful. We looked ragged. A lot of tired performers. However, the team in the ridiculous away shirt didn\u2019t convert their superiority into clear chances, let alone goals, and by the half hour mark we had begun to emerge on top in a low quality game. Leno had barely been troubled. Mar\u00ed was on his way to a solid game defensively, with a few wayward passes thrown in, but he would have expected a tougher test against this attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saka alternated between looking shattered and well up for it. A couple of times his final ball or shot was not quite there. It was similar for Tierney, who got forward into some great positions without making the most of them. He looked increasingly despairing of his chances of getting back into position, still lacking in match fitness. Saka tracked bravely back for the Scot whose legs were not as willing as his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We did not create much although it was good to see us stop the onslaught and play our way back into contention. I am sure the boss was positive of our chances at half-time. City did not put us to the sword and right until the last whistle a single goal in it meant we had something to play for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Auba had a poor game. He could not hold the ball up. He never has done and he won\u2019t start now. He was on the edge of things and when he did touch the ball he was off the pace. To be fair we didn\u2019t give him much to feed off in the penalty area. \u00d8degaard was decent in the first half and he occupied a lot of spaces without receiving the ball. I think in a few games time his team-mates will be more used to his movement and will do a better job of finding him. However, the Norwegian faded in the second half and was hooked on 74 minutes for Laca, at the same time as Pepe came off for ESR. Both were sensible subs although they could have been made earlier and ultimately failed to inject the pace that might have got us something from the game. The direct, relentless presence of Gabi Martinelli might have been a good call too, but we will never know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to have a word about P\u00e9p\u00e9. He was quiet today. No worse than anyone else and he did at least try to shoot but he did not have a big influence on proceedings. Now, from my armchair it looks like Arteta has got this one all wrong. We know P\u00e9p\u00e9 is a confidence player who needs to play himself into form. The Boss has an almost perverse penchant for taking him out of the team when his confidence is highest and holding him back until he has lost all momentum before starting him in a big game. The flipside of his refusal to use P\u00e9p\u00e9 in the last couple of games despite him looking increasingly effective is that now Bukayo Saka is knackered. The gaffer knows a lot more than me but I am struggling to see the sense in this one. I hope those who are not convinced by P\u00e9p\u00e9 spare a thought for whether the manager is handling him in a way to get the best from him. And as for Saka- that boy needs a rest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just to mix it up I thought I\u2019d wait until we were into the meat of the piece before talking about our midfield. It is the same issue with The Axis Of Average that it always is. Xhakneny do not move the ball forwards enough. Or quickly enough. And this is still true despite an upturn in Xhaka\u2019s performances which I would be churlish not to mention. He had a decent enough game. But we are not going to beat City with that pair in midfield and perhaps we were lucky that our opponents were not really at the races today. Nothing more to add. They are what they are and we have all seen enough of them to know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, on to Jon Moss. He is not my favourite chap. Out of all the chaps and chapesses in the world it is indeed safe to say that he is not top of my list. Watching him puff about like a steam train as the electricity powered high-speed shuttles that are professional footballers whizz past him is never fun at the best of times (even Xhaka out-paced him with relative ease). However, it is the games like today, where he incorporates his own brand of low-level incompetence, without making any glaring errors, that just really do my head in. Speaking of which, he did in fact make one egregious error, waving play on when Rob (who had a solid game after the opening twenty minutes) had his head whacked very hard by Cancelo\u2019s knee. Apparently, the importance of stopping play for head injuries is not something Moss has understood so we waited until City had missed a chance after playing through the space our defender would have been in if he hadn\u2019t been lying dazed on the floor before the ref decided he might need treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve written that jokily but on a serious note he should be reprimanded, or more likely taken aside for a quiet word, after that mistake. That Holding failed the concussion test and was subsequently replaced by David Luiz in a concussion substitution does not look good on Mr. Moss. These injuries must be taken seriously. The referees are instructed to do so. And he failed to follow that instruction, delaying treatment to someone with a concussion. Breaks in the game are a pain, especially as some players are now (rather despicably) grabbing their heads to get play stopped despite not being significantly injured. Yet this is an area where we must be safe not sorry, and the rules must be followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his pessimistic and patronising commentary for Sky Gary Neville did make an apt analogy in comparing City to Floyd Mayweather for the way they got ahead and kept us at arm\u2019s length, safe in their superiority. The new buzz-word is \u2018game-state\u2019 and I think City might have raised their levels more if they hadn\u2019t scored so early. But with the game state as it was (we used to just say \u2018cos they were winning) they let us play in front of them but were fairly comfortable throughout. Another day it might have backfired but we just didn\u2019t have enough juice in the tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, look, I can\u2019t get too exercised about this one. How about you? I\u2019ll look forward to hearing from everyone in The Drinks (comments) at the bottom of the page how you all saw it. See you there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As ever, have a good one \u2018holics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images This afternoon we lost a strangely subdued game against quite possibly the best side in the world on current form. I wanted to start with that piece of perspective before digging a bit further into what happened and what we might make of it. Indeed, before the game there were many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2416"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2437,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions\/2437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}