City lose AGAIN | How big are the problems? | Everton up next
48:09 Share

This episode is brought to you by I'm's Pet Food. When you choose I'm's dry dog or cat food, you can see a difference in your pet with your own eyes. Healthy energy in five days, healthy digestion in 10 days and healthy skin and coat in just 25 days. Satisfaction for you and them guaranteed are your money back. Feed I'm's dry dog or cat food and see a visible difference. Visit I'm's dot com slash difference to learn more.

This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all-electric Prologue SUV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. There's the generous passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers.

Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven-layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals on game day food. No matter what you're craving, from two-for-one pizza to buy one, get one wings, Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week, all season long. Uber Eats, official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. ♪

Hello and welcome to a festive edition of the Talking City podcast, a festive edition without any sense of fun, festivities or frolicking, I'm afraid. I'm Tyrone Marshall in the host chair, joined today by Simon Bykovsky, fresh from a Saturday trip to Villa Park, two days out from Christmas. Si, are you feeling festive? Are you in the mood for the visit of the big man now? I'm very organised this year, you know. Got a few things to do.

A few pickups to do tomorrow, but other than that, we're ready, I would say. I would say, are you?

No, no, I've got to, she's not actually left yet. So I have to whisper this bit, but I've got to wrap my wife's presence when she pops out with our little boy the next half an hour or so. I'm pretty sure she doesn't listen to the podcast. So unless she stood outside the door earwig at me, I don't think she'll know, but we'll find out once I finished, I guess. So yeah, that's my job once this is done and on my lunch break, of course, true company man. I won't be taking time out of my shift to do that. Absolutely not.

But yeah, on to more, I'm going to say serious matters, and I guess it is pretty serious. Aston Villa on Saturday. You were there, Si, I think when you did a podcast with Joe at the end of last week, but when me and you last spoke, I was saying how big

Last week felt a full week off, a good run into that game, a good few days of training. And it felt a decisive game to see if that week of training can change anything about City. And I think I said to you, if nothing changes, I'd be pretty worried. So what changed?

Yeah, nothing. No, we podcasted with Joe on Friday morning and Joe was, I would say Joe was quite surprised that I was quite negative on the team and expecting them to get beat on Saturday. Joe even predicted a clean sheet. And then a few hours later, Pep's press conference came out and said, yeah, Diaz is out for a month. Edison's probably out for a month. And Joe texted me and said, yeah, no, I take back the clean sheet.

And it should have been 1-0 Villa after 20 seconds because Stones and Guardiola messed up. And it was a weak shot from Duran, really, that Ortega tipped around the post. And then it should have been 1-0 Villa from the resulting corner, also within the first minute. I would say it's the best save Villa Park will see, but it's not even the best save Villa Park will see this month because Martinez last week was...

was so incredible. But it was truly outstanding from Ortega to claw the ball out from Pau Torres. And it's one of those things like, you know, City had a week off and had two days off because they didn't have a midweek game. And everything seemed a bit better. And, you know, we spoke to Bernardo Silva before the game and he kind of said, yeah, really enjoyed the time off. We're back. We feel like we're ready to go again. And, yeah,

Nothing changed and City survived those two early scares and nothing changed. And, you know, it wasn't a terrible performance in the sense that the first half they played all right in the way that they did against Sporting or Juventus in the first half or Brighton in the first half. But they never looked like scoring. And the minute Aston Villa produced anything worth a goal scoring chance,

Aston Villa scored. So it was kind of the same old story. And yeah, things are just not getting any better and you don't know when the next win is going to come. No, you don't. You definitely don't. And I mean, that start felt pretty telling, didn't it? On, you know,

a day like that after what happened last Sunday after a clear week it's kind of like right ease yourself into the games lads let's not do anything stupid in the first 20s ah right okay here goes John Duran and it was similar as well to the goal and this is a recurring City problem isn't it that they are they are just being cut open so easily I mean teams aren't it doesn't feel like teams are having to work particularly hard to get through City and it's almost just playing through the middle um you know lovely goals but

It all feels just a little bit too easy to play through City at the moment, doesn't it? Which is so rare for them. Yeah, I mean, Pep was asked after the game about that first goal and transitions in the team being a problem. And he said, oh, I want to give credit to Aston Villa because it was really good. And you sort of think...

I mean, it was all right, but I mean, I don't think the ball should be going from Martinez to City's goal in like five touches and five seconds, whatever it was. It was just far too easy to play. It's a goal that City used to score against other teams. You know, Edison playing...

straight down the middle, someone else taking two touches, sliding forward, Leroy Sane or whoever to cross for Aguero to knock it in. It was just far too easy. And like, you know, who's at fault? You don't know. Stone steps up. Should he step up? Should he not? Akanji's held back.

And he then plays them on. It was just a case of City being outsmarted by better opposition. And, you know, that never used to be the case because they were the best, you know, six months ago. So it really is remarkable just how far they've fallen in a short space of time. And Aston Villa are good. They're a good team. You know, I think I said last week they'd be the best team City play in the next month or so.

But they're not as good as they have been. They've struggled a bit more this season with the Champions League and everything else. So it was by no means the kind of ferocious atmosphere that City maybe walked into last year or the year before. It was, you know, just not... It was a half-twelve game as well. So it was, you know, a bit... These games can be a bit sleepy, can't they, with their atmospheres? But City just gifted Villa everything.

Yeah, it just feels very flat, doesn't it, at the moment? The way they're playing, the way they're defending, it's all just very sort of, like, it's hard to get going for. Like, it feels flat. It feels lacking energy. You know, we had Gundogan 10 days ago saying it's a team not built for transitions. And then, I mean, did you even call the first goal a transition? It was just so easy the way they kind of

did just play through them and carve them open. And, you know, it's almost an energy thing. And I guess, I mean, it is very disjointed. Where are these failings? I mean, we've heard Pep for ages now kind of saying it's physical. I need my players back, which we'll come on to more in the second half.

But it doesn't just feel like a physical failing now of this being an old team suffering with injuries. It feels like there's tactical issues here, that there's mental issues here in terms of the mentality of the way they started that game. It almost feels like something that maybe started as a physical failing has now kind of spread. And you look at it and there's just there's a lot of issues in that team all of a sudden, isn't there?

Yeah, I mean, I couldn't name a City player in form, which is a huge issue. And that is physical and that is mental. You know, the legs of so many players are shot, but also the minds are because it is just groundhog day for them. You know, I feel a bit sorry for...

for Pep in the sense that every movement he does or makes is overly scrutinized at the moment. And, you know, he has always been agitated and he's never sort of exuded calm. But I did think on Saturday he was calmer than he has been on the, on the sidelines for,

for many a game and it felt a bit blind from him that you know he sort of couldn't do much about it or there was you know a moment in the first half where he was trying to tell Stones to go somewhere and Stones was disagreeing with him and it kind of felt like things just aren't quite in in harmony at the minute you know City were better in the first half and kind of and then that

without fully exposing, you know, creating too much. But then that threat just disappeared in the second half. And it's like, you're 1-0 down. Where is the will? Where is the quality to try and get back into this game? And, you know, thinking back on it, like, much of the threat in the first half came from John Stones playing diagonal balls over to Jack Grealish. And Stones only lasted 45 minutes. So...

You know, Pep said afterwards he had to change the pressing to adapt for the quality of our captain with Kyle Walker coming on for John Stones, which doesn't scream that things are sort of necessarily great. It's sort of the position City are in at the minute where it's like, how can we not have Kyle Walker in the team? Because he is more out of form than...

than anyone else and he always ends up getting into the team somehow even if he doesn't start. There are just so many issues and the build-up is really lacking because they don't have the players and the players that they do have just have no confidence whatsoever. So yeah, it's very hard to see. It was very hard to come away from Saturday with any positives.

Yeah, and I mean, this is kind of what makes me think that there's tactical issues here where something just doesn't work. And, you know, you comment there about it's hard to think of a City player in form. I mean, it's absolutely true. And it's easy to think of an awful lot that aren't in form. But it is incredible that you can have a team where not a single player

outfield player, I mean, Ortega's done pretty well, I guess, but not a single outfield player is in form. You know, great teams, when they're going through rough patches, will often rely on an individual. We'll bail them out. The team might play poorly, but one individual will step up and have a great game. You can have nine five-out-of-tens, and someone will have a nine-out-of-ten, and you'll win the game. With City, that just isn't happening, is it? And I don't know whether that's a result of kind of the...

the tactical cohesion that Guardiola's always built, that this is, you know, it's never really been a team that relies on individuals. I guess it's always been this kind of big collective and suddenly the collective's fallen apart and there aren't individuals to bail them out. But it does feel remarkable that you watch them play and none of them, none of them are playing well, are they? No, no. And, you know, it's been a team that, you know,

For a while, they've all pulled each other up and their performances have been better than kind of each individual because it's been sort of collective brilliance and now it's collective failure where, you know, one mistake leads to another mistake. And even if somebody plays well, it just doesn't count for anything. I sort of think Bernardo Silva really sums it up. Like, I think he's probably been one of City's better players in this whole season.

and he has been asked to play pretty much everywhere, all over the pitch to help out and do every job possible. But there's a real sort of anger towards him from a lot of fans in the fact that he's not been able to do more. And sort of, you know, he started on the right wing on Saturday and he didn't really pose a threat. And he is sort of beginning to be seen as sort of the inertia of this team and the sort of stagnation and inability to do anything.

And I suppose really he's just spent all his time running around treading water, putting out fires. He can't do it all on his own. And those very actions are defensive in the first place rather than sort of taking the game to the opposition. So even the small positives have become negatives, really. Yeah, and...

i mean talking of positives and he said it was hard to think of any were there any i mean phil foden finally scored in the premier league this season he looked sharp er i guess um i mean beyond beyond that is you know ortega played very well made some really good saves um without him it could have been an awful lot worse you mentioned edison's injury we're back to this idea of city having

He's certainly one of the top two, number twos in the Premier League, I think, in Ortega, and he's going to be essential over the next few weeks. I mean, is that pretty much it as far as positives are concerned? Yeah, I don't really see Foden as a positive. I don't think he can yet. He's had a few points this season where he's looked like he could use something as something to kick on, and he hasn't. For most of the game, he looked like he was on a different wavelength to all of his teammates overall.

which he has done pretty much all season. He did well to keep going and he kept going and he got the goal in the end and maybe it can be used to turn it into a positive. But, you know, again, Guardiola said afterwards, like, oh, thanks to some players who kept going until the end, you know, they can have pride.

And then someone sort of was like, well, what do you mean some players? He was like, oh, no, no, no. I never criticise my players. Never will. Never have, never will. You know, like, right. So, you know, Foden was one of the better players and he did keep going until the end. But that was pretty much it. You know, City fans singing, we've scored a goal at the end was...

kind of a sad, funny indicative of how it had all gone and how this run is going. Yeah. Foden's probably, you know, we were talking about individual players and is there an individual who can kind of rise above the malaise? And I mean, Foden's maybe the one, isn't he? Perhaps the most sort of maverick player in this team, which hasn't always served him well, but yeah,

In a way, it's kind of what they need now, isn't it? They need someone to almost step out of that team structure and just be like, I'll sort this, lads. I'll step up. And I know that might be anathema still to Guardiola, but it almost feels like what they need, isn't it? They need Foden to suddenly catch fire. Well, it's what he did last season. It's what he did last season, first with Alvarez and then on his own. You know, the second half of last season, he did that all the time.

and he just can't find that form. And maybe he needs everyone else around him to be better, to help him to do that, but he just can't get going. And, you know, he's nearly played 1,500 minutes for City this season in all competitions.

And he's just not got going. So, yeah, there's just problems all over the pitch. You know, Haaland coming out saying what he said, but, you know, there's plenty of people who think Haaland is a big issue as well. It's just that there really aren't any positives. What a cheery podcast this is.

Oh, yeah. Happy Christmas, everyone. Please don't. Why would you listen on Christmas Day? Please, please don't listen on Christmas Day while you're doing the turkey. Last bit for the first half then. I mean, it felt fitting that it was a former City player who helped slice and dice them. And it's kind of become a recurring theme, isn't it, that

And we're going to sound like we want our cake and eat it here because for so long we've praised City's strategy of selling academy players and how it helps the wheel go round. It funds a lot of the club. But maybe they've sold too many because you look at it now and how short of players they are. And there's an awful lot of players playing awfully well in the Premier League that could really do a job in this team right now, couldn't they?

I mean, I'm writing on this today, but can you remember where you were when City sold Morgan Rogers? No. No? Can you remember the national phonings, all the newspaper articles, how can Man City let this player go?

No. Can you remember when he signed for Villa? Because, you know, Unai Emery's Villa signing a player like Eken, surely, surely that was the moment. How could City let this player, he's gone to Middlesbrough and done such enormous things that he's, you know, Villa have signed him. Why aren't City signing him? Surely City need him to win their fourth in a row. It's a fair point, but have they, you know, maybe Rodgers is just the trendy example because of this weekend. But,

The squad is clearly not deep enough, is it? And it would be deeper if some of these players hadn't been sold. I mean, Romeo Lavia, for example, would do a good job in that midfield right now. There can't be much doubt about that. There's other players out there that City have sold. Romeo Lavia would. When City were sort of thinking of winning the treble, what do you think the reaction would have been to City paying £150,000?

seven million for romeo lavia having let him go for free well don't let him go in the first place no no they got what did they get 40 million for him but it's gonna cost them more than 40 million now to sign a rodry replacement in january though probably isn't it it would but would it cost them what chelsea paid for lavia no probably not i mean i don't know what they paid for lavia um um let's use the internet it probably wouldn't but it

It just feels like... I just think all of these are real hindsight moments. I think, you know... Yeah, we are talking... Yeah, I agree with that. I think the biggest one is probably Taylor Howard-Bellis, which nobody would bring up. Yeah, yeah, that's that one, yeah. Because, you know, where steepest is 58 million for Lavia. 58 million, yeah. Actually, so... But, you know, where they're lacking is centre-back and you'd probably say, well, do you...

It looks like an error to count on Stones and Ake to stay fit. But then, you know, you still have, you still count on Diaz and Akanji and no one would sort of sell. You'd expect those players injured again. Rodgers will be perfect for City right now. The problem is that

Every time Manchester City play a game, you can point to four or five players in the opposition team who may or may not have come through City's academy and say they could do a job. They could do a job. You know, look at when they lost to Bournemouth, Semenya was brilliant. And Semenya's got nothing to do with City, but Semenya was probably as good an option as Morgan Rodgers would be for getting...

City to where they want to be or back to where they want to be. So there are just so many players out there who are making City look ordinary. And, you know, I hope nobody thinks that I'm sort of being harsh on Morgan Rodgers or whatever, because I do think he was brilliant and is a brilliant player. But like, there is nothing in his time at City to suggest that.

he should have made it. He went on loan to Bournemouth in the Championship and Bournemouth didn't register him for the second half of the season for their squad because he had made such little impact. So, you know, maybe the mistake City have made is not activating their buybacks, not seeing the potential when teams like Villa have come in. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I guess the thing with Rodgers...

Yeah, I think the thing with Rodgers is he needed games to reach this level, didn't he? Which he was never going to get at City. And it's probably true of a lot of these players we're talking about. They have gone on to this level because they've left City and gone to a team that is going to play them every week. And like you say, Rodgers was a tidy, decent player at City, but they were never going to give him the exposure that Middlesbrough gave him. Maybe he goes on a loan and can't.

which is fire, but I still don't think he comes back to City and plays. If he got on loan to Middlesbrough, does that, comes back to City, he's still not getting the number of games he's getting at Villa, is he? So this is probably the issue for them, that this is normally such a hard team to get into, that these young players can't get the games they need to go to that level. And it's only when they leave City and City have a bad run that we sit here with Captain Hindsight blasses on and say, well, they should have kept him, shouldn't they?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think probably Taylor Howard-Bellis sums it up because in the argument of all the players City let go, Howard-Bellis is probably fifth or sixth down in all the lists I've seen. He's behind Rodgers, Laviolette, Parma, De Lappe at the very least. Possibly even Frimpong or someone like that. So, you know, you could maybe say that

They've not looked at their buybacks enough, but also the collapse has been so spectacular, but also so swift. You know, who in summer, who at the end of the summer window was saying, oh, City should have had Morgan Rodgers back in. Yeah. But that's, you know, a sign of how bad things have got at City, that everything is being analysed and over-analysed in a way that it never really has.

Yeah, absolutely. And it's typical of when a team goes on a run like this, isn't it? That the things, you don't just lose to Villa, but you lose to Villa in a way that casts a light, not just on your performance, but on your decision-making as well. And that's probably typical of what happens when a team goes on a run like this, when it feels the world's against us. But if you're still listening, then fair play to you. This is the end of part one. We'll be back after the break to look forward. We have one more act for you this evening.

I don't even need to say his name. Mr. Bob Dylan! A complete unknown is now a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice nominee for Best Picture. Bobby, what do you want to be? Whatever it is, they don't want me to be. Timothee Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the year. And critics rave Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic. 70,000 people are here and Bobby is the reason for it. This Christmas. They just want me singing Blowing in the Wind for the rest of my life. Hey!

Don't miss the movie critics are hailing, Five Stars. It's pure cinematic magic. Turn it down! Play it loud! And named to AFI and the National Board of Review's Top Ten Films of the Year. Make some noise, BD. Track some mud on the carpet. A Complete Unknown. Only in theaters Christmas Day. Rated R. Under $17.99 without parent.

Building a portfolio with Fidelity Basket Portfolios is kind of like making a sandwich. It's as simple as picking your stocks and ETFs, sort of like your meats and other topics, and managing it as one big juicy investment. Mmm, now that's pretty good. Learn more at fidelity.com slash baskets. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokers Services, LLC. Member NYSC SIPC.

♪♪♪

Welcome back to the Talking City podcast. I think this is maybe the third or fourth game in a row now where we're going to talk about a player's post-match interview and dissect it for interesting lines. Erling Haaland, this time, taking the blame himself, basically, carrying...

carrying the load on his shoulders he's not been good enough um i mean that's that's probably fair to say um certainly the you know you think back now to when was it after brentford i think when he scored a couple of goals and his record then was absolutely insane and we were talking about how many is he going to get this season and since then it's it's been a real slog hasn't it what's there been three premier league goals four premier league goals maybe since since then um but

You know, he's clearly not... If we're making a list of culprits, which we are not, by the way, he wouldn't be top of that list, would he? That's a... Yeah, Santa's alternative Christmas list. The Man City players that don't deserve a Christmas present. There's a Christmas Day piece for you, Si. All of them. Yeah, I...

I fall very much into the... Haaland is nowhere near the list of City's biggest problems. And I really do feel sorry for him in the way that the service for him has just dried up in the extreme. He's feeding off scraps and...

I know people and people whose opinions I respect a lot who say, oh, he just stands there doing nothing. Like, you're better off playing without him if that's all he's going to do. But I would sort of say he's being told to stand there and wait for the ball to come to him. Because, you know, I remember sort of, I mean, City did it with Liam de Lappe, where Liam de Lappe used to run everywhere and Enzo Marescu was...

in charge of De Lappe and the academy team, like, trained him to stay within the sort of width of the penalty area and said, stop chasing the ball everywhere. Stop running after the ball. You stay where you can score goals. And someone like Cole Palmer or James McAtee or someone will give you the ball in a goal-scoring area. Like, Haaland is the most extreme example of

He doesn't need many touches, but his touches are in places where he's most likely to score a goal. But if the ball's not coming to him, he can't do anything. I thought it was another interview that showed how publicly united the squad are.

because if Haaland's not blaming himself, he's blaming other people. And he's saying, oh, where's my service? Why aren't you giving me the ball? I can't do my job because you're not doing yours. So he is saying, no, it's my fault. I need to do better. And that is what everyone is saying. And that is, you know, if we talk about positives, which there were not many, that maybe is the biggest positive that the squad is still together

in that. But it's difficult to... Like I say, every contribution is being looked at and said, well, what are you actually bringing? Because if your centre-forward is not scoring goals and if Erling Haaland isn't scoring goals because he doesn't bring that much else, then people are saying, well, what's the point of having him in the team? But as far as Pep's concerned, Pep got asked...

Before the game, you know, were you considering a false nine again? And he was like, what, with Erling? And they were like, no, no, well, without him even. And he was like, no, I'm pretty sure we're better with Erling in the team. And, you know, I don't see that changing and I don't think that it is an issue or anywhere near as big an issue as any of the others.

No. I mean, it would be interesting to see a game without Haaland. But you're right. We're kind of back to this hindsight thing, aren't we? Earning Haaland being asked to stand there and just put the ball in the back of the net wasn't a problem last season or the season before that. It's become a problem because everything else has changed.

has fallen apart. And you could take them out the team and play Foden there all of a sudden as a false nine. And maybe City would look a little bit slicker, but they probably wouldn't score. So, you know, I'm not sure it would really change that much. Yeah.

So, yeah, I think it's pretty clear he's not the problem. I think that's it. Like, who's playing there to score? You know, maybe Foden plays there and your midfield looks a bit better, but I just don't think it would be as significant to warrant dropping Haaland. And I do think, like, you know, I asked Pep before the game, like, why he's not played McAteer or any of the young kids, and he sort of...

said he's still backing the senior players to get them out of the hole, basically. And I do think when you look at those performances, like, there is plenty of argument to say, no, just stick them in. See what difference that makes. See what difference players who are really hungry for the shirt and aren't bothered about how good they were because...

They don't have those four Premier League titles or that treble to defend, but they have nothing to lose by going out there and, you know, giving it their all and they're fresh. So, you know, I do, I would like to see those kind of changes for Everton on Boxing Day. I don't know if it'll happen. I mean, you're right. It's almost just the freshness and the energy it would bring, isn't it? That,

maybe it would just bring some kind of spark. Yeah. And again, like, you know, not looking to over sort of analyse different things, but like, so on Saturday after they lose, Pep goes, sort of made a gesture to the away fans. You're like, what was that? And it seemed to be like, he was like saying, hold on a second. And he then made sure the whole team went over and

to thank the fans. It was Lewis and Foden who sort of went over and gave the shirts away. Or maybe they didn't want the shirt. Maybe the fans didn't want it. But they do. It's a nice token of like, at any time. But you're like, they're the two homegrown lads. And I think it does make a difference when you have homegrown local players in the team and fighting for the

for their future. So, yeah, I would like to see that just because nothing else has worked for Guardiola. So, you know, we may as well try that. And if nothing else, it will give a rest to the players that maybe he does have more faith in. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I mean, talking of players who've got a rest, you're chasing the game at Villa Park and Kevin De Bruyne,

doesn't come on um i mean maybe we shouldn't be surprised at that now um but still feels relatively interesting and if you're not bringing de bruyne on like you say well why don't you bring mackety on try and pose a different challenge offensively yeah i um again i have less uh i wasn't that bothered about de bruyne like i feel like it's something that you could say

why isn't he bringing De Bruyne on? But in the context of he's played for pretty much 90 minutes over the last 10 days or whatever, having just come back from all of his injury problems, I wouldn't be... I wasn't too bothered...

That he didn't start and then the longer the game goes on, especially after the second goal goes in, you just think, you know what, just keep him fresh for Everton. You know, Guardiola said after the game that Kovacic came off because he'd just come back from injury and he didn't want to, he thought the game was gone. And I think that has been, to be honest, I think it's the opposite of that has been true in

In recent games, you know, when they were losing 2-0 at Juventus and De Bruyne and the like are still on the pitch, you're then thinking, well, the derby's in a few days and this game has gone. I think City have been guilty of sort of playing the players that they need too often without making subs. So I thought it was probably right not to bring De Bruyne on and let him be completely fresh for Everton.

Yeah. And Guardiola, after the game, then you were in that press conference. I mean, what struck you from what he said? And talking again about when the players come back, which has been a recurring theme, which we kind of touched on in the first half, that I just need my players back. One came back and then went again at half-time. I mean, are they ever coming back? Yeah, well, John Stone's kind of summed it up, really, that

And that is the issue, I think. Guardiola isn't in imminent danger of being sacked despite the terrible form. But you sort of think, how long can this go on for? And if the only answer is, we will be better once the players come back. It's been two months and none of the players are back. Some of them are, but others are out again.

You know, going to Villa Park, we were thinking you can't start Stones and Akanji because they both only had a few training sessions. You know, both of them making it through the game would be a stretch. And then about an hour in, it looked like both of them would have to be off. So it's very...

You know, I asked Pep after the game, I said, you know, what happens if they don't come back? Because that is all he's hanging on to at the minute. You know, give me my players back and we'll be fine. Well, that's fine. But how long can you afford to keep losing every week without those players? You know, if the players only come back in April, are you fine with having sort of like loads of defeats in that time? It's...

you sort of need something else beyond that. And that may come naturally through sort of a bit more rest in the next few weeks. But, you know, they need serious change. Yeah, they do. They do. And, yeah,

Maybe the results will change. Everton on Boxing Day at the Etihad. I mean, surely, surely they'd be in Everton at home. And even after that, I mean, their fixtures coming up now. Everton at home, Leicester away, West Ham home, Salford home, Brentford away, Ipswich away.

I mean, Brentford away will be tricky. The rest of those look incredibly winnable. That run of six games. Surely, you know, surely this is the abyss. This is surely the low point. Things are, there's good news around the corner, isn't there, Si? Surely. Come on. Tell us there's good news around the corner.

I think you would have said that before they played Ruben Amarim's Manchester United. And look how that went. I think you might have said that before they went to Oliver Glasner's struggling Crystal Palace. And look how that... Yeah, like, looking at it, Everton have gone to Arsenal and got a draw, and then they've held Chelsea to a draw, and both of those are better teams than City. So a City team who cannot create any goal-scoring opportunity...

breaking down a Sean Dyche Everton who were informed like yeah lump on the Everton clean sheet sorry to be so negative again but I think that's where City are at like they've got to be treating it as this Everton game is going to be an absolute slog boxing day on 1230 as well

It doesn't scream, we will be massively up for this and ready to turn things round. I think any kind of victory has to be treated as a major boost for City and a major result because, yeah, Everton have shown that they are capable of holding out better teams than City and City haven't kind of shown that they're capable of beating worse teams than Everton.

No, and you're right. It's probably a good point, actually, that in a way it's the worst team to face, a team that are just so dogged and determined and defensively resilient now, especially in that kick-off slot. I mean, yeah, you've not sold it to me, to be honest. I'm going to be there with you and you have absolutely not sold it to me. But, I mean, they really need a win, don't they? They're seventh now. Newcastle, Fulham and Brighton all within a win behind them as well. I mean, what?

what's the target here? Are we just saying fourth now this season? Would fourth now be a success this season if we kind of reached that position? Because it feels to me a little bit like we have. I mean, it wouldn't be a success, but it might be the success from here. Yeah. But, you know, I think Guardiola said it after the Villa game, like the target at the minute has to be win a football match because they're not capable of doing it. Yeah.

They just have to work their way back up. They're at the bottom of the mountain. They have to win one game, try and win another, try and win another, try and get up to sixth, try and get up to fifth, try and get up to fourth and keep sort of working that way. You know, they're in a fight at the minute for top four and until they can look like top four is assured, they can't think about being in a title race. They might never get to being in the title race, but until...

until they sort of wrestle back their form, they can't think about anything but top four. But I don't think they can even think of top four at the minute. I think it just has to be like, we just need to win a football match and try and get back to feeling how we used to feel. Unai Emery speaking after the game sort of,

said you know he felt like Villa's confidence went up and City's went down um other teams will be noticing that and the the what there's certainly the idea that there's any kind of fear factor at the the Etihad is is is all gone and considering a month ago they still hadn't lost in two years there it's uh quite staggering yeah yeah it really is but on the bright side they haven't lost

Three and a lot home to Bournemouth, two seasons in a row, and the roof isn't leaking. So it's not all bad. There's always someone or something just around the corner to still make you feel grateful. And just around the corner for City as well is the January transfer window. And surely, surely, surely it is going to be a reasonably busy one. It feels like something has got to happen, hasn't it?

You would think so. Yeah, Saturday brought news that fans wouldn't want to hear in the fact that City aren't expecting to sign either Bruno Guimaraes or Martin Zouamendi in the January transfer window. I think both of those players would have been seen as...

I don't want to say ideal, but very, very good fits for City, both for saving this season and also building for next season and beyond. But no, that is not the way it's seen at City. I mean, Guardiola spoke on Friday about how difficult it is to get sort of good players in the January window.

Clubs don't want to sell and players maybe don't want to move and things like that. You know, City also have this issue where, like, as soon as we reported it on Saturday that they didn't want these two players, so many responses were just like, well, it's 1-1-5. 1-1-5, isn't it? They don't want to sign players because 1-1-5. And like, you know, it is not true, but you can see everyone just sort of wishing it into reality anyway. Yeah.

Not everyone, but everyone not at City. But you sort of think, well, if they're not going for the people such as Zubamendi and Bruno Guimaraes, who are they going for? And obviously we would love to find that out. But at the minute, it doesn't appear as though City are sort of ahead of the game in terms

sort of finding January signings that can help the team.

Yeah, a cheery note to end a cheery podcast, cheery 40 minutes on the 23rd of December. Thanks for joining us, Si. I'm off to smash the eggnog after that. Badly needed, I think. Let's hope Boxing Day brings a little bit more cheer. We'll be back later in the week as well. Merry Christmas to all our listeners. I'm sure, Si, you'd like to offer your own Christmas greetings and a reminder as well. I'm sure people can still get your book...

for a stocking filler as well, if they'd like to remember the good old days. A story of how City gave every other team the blueprint on how to beat them. Yeah, that's how we go. Yeah, no, it's still an interesting time to be covering City, but yeah, it's still been a hell of a year for them. Still won four in a row, and as they...

said to their neighbours last week, I don't think United or anyone else will ever win four in a row. So yeah, still a record-breaking year.

Absolutely. 2024 has been a good year for City and maybe there is going to be a happier ending to it as well. Thanks for joining us, please leave us a review if you've enjoyed it. Leave us a like as well. Remember to subscribe to get the latest podcasts in your feed. I believe we'll be back on Friday. I've no idea who it'll be, but it'll be two of me, Si and Joe. So,

So listen to us then, and hopefully we'll have something a little bit more positive to talk about. For now, thanks very much, and Merry Christmas to everyone.