Matchday 4 (Group F) - Wednesday 1st November, 2017

[SirBalon]

34 minutes ago, Pep Talk said:

our depth is why we have a good chance to win the CL. We can rotate and keep guys fresh which helps a lot in a long season.

Various top teams have depth in terms of their possibilities in the Champions League mate...  It's all about when you use that depth!

Take for example Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid who also has tremendous depth and look at them now!  Looks like Europa League football for them for the rest of this campaign.  He uses his depth when injuries or suspensions occur because he trusts key players that habitually play in the first team a lot more than others sitting on the bench that have also got tremendous quality.

Rotating for domestic cup games isn't rotation these days because almost every head coach does that.  It's rotating in the bread and butter of each respective league where bravery coupled with luck gets you a fresh first team arriving at the period of the season where titles are decided.

Can Pep Guardiola afford this in the Premier League?  Infact a better question is, does Guardiola trust the others enough as time goes by and it starts mattering more what you decide.  Zinedine Zidane got Real Madrid to win what they won last season due to that bravery in the second half of the season.  Just when the team were starting to stutter, he was brave and alternated with two different teams most weeks...  Infact for many the "B-Team" were playing better football than the "A-Team" were.

City have key players and one in particular called Kevin de Bruyne...  Pep really relies on him because as I said last season when he got that injury, he (De Bruyne) is the ONLY one who really really understands what Guardiola wants.

[Pep Talk]

8 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Various top teams have depth in terms of their possibilities in the Champions League mate...  It's all about when you use that depth!

Take for example Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid who also has tremendous depth and look at them now!  Looks like Europa League football for them for the rest of this campaign.  He uses his depth when injuries or suspensions occur because he trusts key players that habitually play in the first team a lot more than others sitting on the bench that have also got tremendous quality.

Rotating for domestic cup games isn't rotation these days because almost every head coach does that these days.  It's rotating in the bread and butter of each respective league where bravery coupled with luck gets you a fresh first team arriving at the period of the season where titles are decided.

Can Pep Guardiola afford this in the Premier League?  Infact a better question is, does Guardiola trust the others enough as time goes by and it starts mattering more what you decide.  Zinedine Zidane got Real Madrid to win what they won last season due to that bravery in the second half of the season.  Just when the team were starting to stutter, he was brave and alternated with two different teams most weeks...  Infact for many the "B-Team" were playing better football than the "A-Team" were.

City have key players and one in particular called Kevin de Bruyne...  Pep really relies on him because as I said last season when he got that injury, he (De Bruyne) is the ONLY one who really really understands what Guardiola wants.

I wouldn't say the rest of Europe have great depth. Barca are very thin, real aren't as deep as they were last year. PSG are in the greatest advantage due to them likely being dominant in their league so should be more fresh than anybody else. I'm still high on Bayern though and think come business end of the CL will be up there.

You're right on KDB he is the biggest key to this team. He makes life so much easier for everybody else and the chances he does infact create.

depth only matters if your first choice are healthy and you can rotate them with the bench. Being able to rotate both of the silva's is a big deal as is resting Aguero and Jesus when possible. 

I thought we would badly miss Mendy but Delph has done an awesome job replacing him. Better than I expected.

I'm sure pep will look at a few defenders in the January transfer window but I'm sure there won't be a lot out there. 

Titles aren't won in November but can be lost in december/january if you aren't careful. Playing in the PL will always be seen as a disadvantage when it comes to the champions league but I think this team is the best equipped cope on both fronts.

Like every year though in the CL the draw is a huge part of success. Who you get early can decide a lot so we could win the group and get real or Bayern next round by that time maybe they are playing better football so it's hard to judge.