I've just posted a completely alternative take in the senior squad thread! Admittedly I didn't watch the game. That said, I think that your frustration is more from the fact that our youth teams are no longer as good in the competition because of Brexit. Look at how many foreigners are in the Inter squad. Our average level has declined because the English sides are getting close to being homogenous. We've always struggled to dominate the ball like this, especially against Italians sides, but it seems at least tactically we're superior here but lacking in the cutting edge? I'd be more worried if our England youth squads, where we can bring together our elite talent, we're showing a lack of cutting edge. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case.
I watched the full game and I have to say I was very disappointed by City. Inter took a two-goal lead quite early and having never seen them before it's hard to tell to what degree they intentionally sat back and defended or if City were just that much superior on the ball but either way Inter defended pretty comfortably. City's play was too slow and so much of their possession was sideways and without intent. Admittedly the team didn't exactly contain many players we have exceptionally high hopes for (maybe Wright aside, who was quite good) and I think their team was a little bit younger than Inter's, but there were plenty of youth internationals in the starting XI and I'm not sure how many of Inter's side are regarded as the cream of the crop either. I think some of my frustration comes from the fact that the overwhelming majority of academy teams are trying to do the same thing and play the same way, and there's not enough player empowerment or variety. I like the way Man Utd are doing things atm but Chelsea trying to restructure what they've been doing to follow everyone else is really frustrating. There are clearly still very good individual players being produced around the country but I think academies have gone backwards a little bit and could be doing more than they are to optimise player developement.
Have they not gone gone back because of Brexit though? There are no longer those 2 or 3 higher level foreign players in the team?
In this specific competition that's definitely affected the results but there's been a regression in terms of the way teams set up when looking at what's conducive to good player development imo. I hope it won't last though because the game seems to be finally moving away from that kind of football and the next generation of top coaches mostly seem to recognise the limitations of strict positional play. Amongst the likes of Xabi Alonso and Thiago Motta you can put Lee Carsley in that bracket of coaches (style-wise, not necessarily calibre).
John Terry says Chelsea are excited to take part in the summer Club World Cup: “I’ve been asked this a couple of times. As a player, [it’s] like: “Do you really care about the [FIFA Club World Cup]?”. Absolutely you do. So, 100% as a football club, we’re going to be prepared to…— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) September 18, 2024 I don’t think any of the players actually are.
I watched pretty much most of the second half and I do understand what Horris means and agree mostly as I too have been critical of the way we have been playing lately with so much possession but little bite. However, I had flashbacks of years gone by when we would have played like say Inter from today for example and we would have been critical of that style of football and the general consensus would be that it won’t benefit us at senior level as we need to be able to control games. I think longer term, playing this way will benefit us but we do need to address issues like encouraging more flair and individual personalities into players attributes, rather than just being robotic so things need tweaking but I don’t think we’re miles away from getting it right.
Mikel Arteta says Martin Odegaard will be out for "a while" with "significant" ligament damage to his ankle. He said it's "hopefully" not going to be months. #AFC— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) September 18, 2024 I feel like this could be the year where Man City are miles ahead and the only question will be if a point deduction gives the win to someone else.
🚨⚠️ Jules Koundé: “Every year we have more games and less rest”.“We players have been saying this for 3-4 years now but nobody pays attention to us”.“The time will come when we will have to go on strike to make ourselves heard, as Rodri said”. pic.twitter.com/EjxUmcjtFT— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 18, 2024 Feels like he is including the Nations League in this as well as the CL and CWC.
I mean the recent escalation is due to the new World Club tournament and Champions League expansion. Would be harsh and actually don’t think it will happen that they strike when International football comes around.
There's a balance to be struck for sure. Premier League academies have made gigantic strides in the last 15 or so years, they just need to make sure they don't abandon a lot of the things they do extremely well while they try to iron out their flaws.
Well the PFA keep talking about how Halland and Salah had a proper break because they didn’t play international football this summer. 🗣️ Spoke to @PFA CEO Maheta Molango at @WFSummit. Asked whether Rodri's threat of a player strike over the fixture calendar could become a reality."We'll go as far as the players want us to go. Rodri played in the Euro 2024 Final on 14 July and within less than a month, he was… pic.twitter.com/7AK0XKgLzN— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) September 18, 2024
‘Players could refuse to play for England if they go on strike but continue to play for their clubs, after union chief Maheta Molango said industrial action over football's punishing fixture list should target "national team competitions".’ (Daily Telegraph) The PFA is after international football because it doesn’t pay.
Yeah, I can just imagine Harry Kane being firmly behind this idea……..it’s not going to happen anyway!
So only 26 players are going to go on strike? That’s not very good collective action. This is just click bait rubbish, a strike is not going to happen. Who are they going to strike against? The clubs? The leagues? The International federations? Are the Argentinians or the Brazilian pl players going to strike too? Are Everton and Crystal Palace players going to strike for instance? Their calendar is the same as it was 20 years ago. What reason do they have to strike?
In fact it is actually less now replays are gone from the FA Cup. It would be very damaging for some players to go on strike for their countries where it absolutely would be seen as disrespecting the country and would see politicians from those counties absolutely get involved.
𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄: Man City could be expelled from all competitions, not just the Premier League✍️ @ben_rumsby#TelegraphFootball | #ManCity— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) September 19, 2024
Expelled from all competitions???? So that basically means we would cease to exist if we can’t compete in any competitions
New Cup featuring PL2 teams and National League sides. The @premierleague and @TheVanaramaNL have today launched a new competition called The National League Cup 🏆The 32-team competition features first teams of National League clubs and Premier League 2 sides, designed to further aid elite player development➡️… pic.twitter.com/O5eWU1IAg5— PL Youth (@PLYouth) September 19, 2024
I haven't read the article but I can tell you right now that it's abject nonsense. There is no power with the court or the Premier League that would even allow them to be relegated to League One, never mind kicked out of every competition. Yeah the Football League could maybe do it themselves, but why would they?
City agents are keeping options open Representatives of Manchester City's star-studded squad have begun exploring their options amid the looming threat of enforced relegation. City's legal fight against 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules started in London on Monday. Proceedings are expected to last 10 weeks with a verdict not out until 2025. If City are found guilty of the most serious charges, the sanctions open to the Premier League could see the champions lose their top-flight status. And, aware of the impact of such a punishment, agents are trying to cover every eventuality to ensure their players are protected. The future of City's squad will be called into question should the club lose their top-flight status as a result of the ongoing case. And agents are keen to hear the club's plans and be informed of the options open to them if the worst-case scenario occurs. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f.../Player-strikes-clubs-SAMI-MOKBEL-COLUMN.html
NEW: Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting with global TV executives on Friday in latest bid to attract interest in FIFA Club World Cup. PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi will be present assisting him. FIFA still have no broadcasters 9 months out https://t.co/9aE5ziI6in pic.twitter.com/4zFl4heTRm— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) September 19, 2024
Obviously a big difference between what FIFA want and what the broadcasters are willing to pay. Hopefully it gets binned due to a lack of interest as fans of Clubs not participating won’t be paying silly money to watch it.