Sportswash! - Let’s oil stare at Manchester City!

[Mark Albrighton]

9 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Pep has failed because he thought he could get away with not picking his best team at Spurs and play for a draw. Last season he was too attacking at Anfield. he didn't get the balance right. His own fault really. He has the better team, he should have won the tie. If Klopp now beats him to the title, this season will be a big failure despite winning two trophies.  

Troy Deeney was with you right up until that final sentence.

[Zatman]

19 minutes ago, lapal_fan said:

You put far too much emphasis on money.  It doesn't really matter what the price or the contract of a player is, that's often not down to the manager.  I mean, if man city come knocking, we know as well as anyone, you slap £20m on the valuation. 

Other teams do try and win at football too, and will try hard to do it.  It's just 11 people playing football at the end of the day, money clouds peoples judgement. Admittedly, money does tend to get you better players, but I suppose that's only natural.  

You can't say he hasn't "trained" them well though, to get half-way through April and still be challenging for 4 trophies is a feat in itself. 

The money is a big aspect though, its not like City were midtable when he took over. If you pay big money I expect big results

Juventus are being labelled as a poor season and spent big. Would say the same for PSG and Bayern

[villa4europe]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

but Guardiola was brought in to win the Champions League, he has spent nearly 500 million in 3 seasons yet hasnt got further than Pellegrini in Champions League. Not like he got beaten by one of the Big 3 of Bayern, Real or Barcelona in any of them seasons but Monaco, Liverpool and Spurs

Just like Bayern, City have gone backwards in Europe under him

no he wasnt but dont let that stop your hatred of him

[villa4europe]

3 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Juventus are being labelled as a poor season and spent big. Would say the same for PSG and Bayern

PSG's blip in the league a few years back aside all of those teams absolutely dominate their league so the CL is the next realistic step for them, man city don't, im sure if pep wins the league this year it will be their first back to back title win

that is what he will be judged on this season not the CL, that's what they brought pep in for, dominate the English competitions and then also free reign over the huge academy they built, they've given him a similar role to what Cruyff had at Barca 30 years a go, the results of what Cruyff did took how many years? it will be the same with city, the idea that their owners will get bored (which wont happen, its a global marketing tool for them) but at the same time they have brought pep in to develop them at all levels and try and change the way they operate in the future

pep's ultimate success at city will be judged long after he has left

[Zatman]

13 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

no he wasnt but dont let that stop your hatred of him

What was he brought into City to do then? Mancini and Pellegrini won leagues. Develop youth? Foden only player near the squad and gets little game time

Is it my fault I hate a player banned for failing a drugs test as a player and little mention by the media ever. He was only cleared due to a dodgy technicality years later. Should have got a life ban yet is treated like a guru

[Stevo985]

2 hours ago, The_Rev said:

Exactly. There seems to be some kind of narrative that anything other than "the quadruple" will be a season of failure for Manchester City. This result probably makes a Premier League win more likely as it removes fixture congestion at the business end of things and they'll almost certainly beat Watford in the cup final. A domestic treble while playing scintillating football isn't a bad way to have a shit season.

Exactly. Wenger never won the champions league either but he turned arsenal into one of the best teams in the world. 

Pep has done the same. Man City are probably the best club team in the world. Or they’re at least in the conversation. They’ve failed in Europe so far, but I don’t think anyone is going to be looking to sack him any time soon given what he’s turned them into. 

People just don’t like Pep, and failing in the champions league is an easy thing to point at and criticise him for. 

[Stevo985]

27 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

no he wasnt but dont let that stop your hatred of him

And even if he was, I’d say there’s still a very good chance he’ll win it with them

[villa4europe]

12 minutes ago, Zatman said:

What was he brought into City to do then? Mancini and Pellegrini won leagues. Develop youth? Foden only player near the squad and gets little game time

because he buys in to what Soriano is preaching, he's been brought in to help develop the city football group, again these that think that their owners have this football play thing or that they will get bored etc etc don't seem to realise what city are doing

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by villa4europe

[Zatman]

Graham Hunter as reliable as Balague on football, thinks he will walk at end of season citing exhaustion

[HanoiVillan]

1 hour ago, lapal_fan said:

You put far too much emphasis on money.  It doesn't really matter what the price or the contract of a player is, that's often not down to the manager.  I mean, if man city come knocking, we know as well as anyone, you slap £20m on the valuation. 

Other teams do try and win at football too, and will try hard to do it.  It's just 11 people playing football at the end of the day, money clouds peoples judgement. Admittedly, money does tend to get you better players, but I suppose that's only natural.  

You can't say he hasn't "trained" them well though, to get half-way through April and still be challenging for 4 trophies is a feat in itself. 

This is a key point really. 

As a wise man taught me in a different context, 'the horse doesn't know the odds'. Nobody goes into a tackle thinking 'well I earn £50k/week less so I'll never get the ball here will I'. 

[NurembergVillan]

 

 

1

1 hour ago, lapal_fan said:

It doesn't really matter what the price or the contract of a player is, that's often not down to the manager.  I mean, if man city come knocking, we know as well as anyone, you slap £20m on the valuation. 

Back in the days of Mark Hughes and Garry Cook being at Citeh, I was in a meeting with Cook whilst they were trying to sign Joleon Lescott.  It was a protracted transfer, if you remember, with Everton digging their heels in to get as much cash as possible.

Garry was in and out of the room taking calls, all related to the transfer.  At the end of the meeting, I asked him if he thought he'd get it done.  He answered that he had to.  As far as the owners were concerned it would be more embarrassing not completing the signing than paying £10m over the odds.

That's the level they're operating at.  What we consider big money is chump change to them.

What then becomes interesting is that although they've spent a lot of money, they haven't gone up into that PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd league of £100m+ on a single transfer.  The focus is on building a robust squad.  Given he's still got Delph as second-choice left back and Kompany is their best central defender, there's clearly more spending to come.

[lapal_fan]

5 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

This is a key point really. 

As a wise man taught me in a different context, 'the horse doesn't know the odds'. Nobody goes into a tackle thinking 'well I earn £50k/week less so I'll never get the ball here will I'. 

Yea but he failed a drugs test 20 years ago, so I wish he was dead. 

[PaulC]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

What was he brought into City to do then? Mancini and Pellegrini won leagues. Develop youth? Foden only player near the squad and gets little game time

Is it my fault I hate a player banned for failing a drugs test as a player and little mention by the media ever. He was only cleared due to a dodgy technicality years later. Should have got a life ban yet is treated like a guru

You hate Klopp as well though 

[Zatman]

3 minutes ago, PaulC said:

You hate Klopp as well though 

They are both detestable

Edited April 18, 2019 by Zatman

[PaulC]

2 minutes ago, Zatman said:

They are both detestable

Great managers though who I bet most top clubs in Europe would love to have. 

[NurembergVillan]

22 minutes ago, PaulC said:

You hate Klopp as well though 

I hate camel gob, too.

Fist-pumping whopper.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

2 hours ago, villa4europe said:

PSG's blip in the league a few years back aside all of those teams absolutely dominate their league so the CL is the next realistic step for them, man city don't, im sure if pep wins the league this year it will be their first back to back title win

that is what he will be judged on this season not the CL, that's what they brought pep in for, dominate the English competitions and then also free reign over the huge academy they built, they've given him a similar role to what Cruyff had at Barca 30 years a go, the results of what Cruyff did took how many years? it will be the same with city, the idea that their owners will get bored (which wont happen, its a global marketing tool for them)

Has anyone said this, though? Perhaps I missed it. 

As NV said earlier on in the thread - they’re the football equivalent of a lottery winning chav family. It’s no wonder people will take any iota of joy out of them failing to win a major trophy; particularly when it’s the one they still long for. 

But nobody can truly see this season as a failure for them, but they CAN revel in them not winning the Champions League.

It’s the partisan nature of football club supporters to take joy in other club’s losses, even if that’s against the backdrop of that same club’s success elsewhere. 

I’ve got no affinity to Man City, and whilst I recognise their achievements, and great football, and I actually like Aguero, Sterling and Pep - I still find them an unlikeable football club as a whole. 

[villa4europe]

to me they're a nothing football club, they haven't got the fanbase on my doorstep to piss me off whilst at the same time they're not as offensive as Chelsea and I too like a fair few of their players and pep, I have pretty much no reason to care when they win something (other than the CL, I don't want any English club winning it, especially not new ones)

add to that I still see city's model of billionaire owner as a better future for football than the FFP model that the boys at the top table tried to introduce to stop them, its not citys new money that's killed football, its the old rich boys getting their backs up over it

[Zatman]

If Pepsi has free reign over the academy and youth players then he has failed in that a lot of City promising youngsters have left like Sancho and Diaz

[Keyblade]

3 hours ago, PaulC said:

Pep has failed because he thought he could get away with not picking his best team at Spurs and play for a draw. Last season he was too attacking at Anfield. he didn't get the balance right. His own fault really. He has the better team, he should have won the tie. If Klopp now beats him to the title, this season will be a big failure despite winning two trophies.  

The whole thing smacks of arrogance. From the fans too, who couldn't sell out a CL quarter final. They all thought they had it in the bag. I'm glad they lost like this.