The whatever footie that's going on (with actual fans) thread

chris_bass

i've just had a look and if you carry the last 5 games form to the end of the season Southampton sneak the top 4 and City miss out! you heard it here first!

kingstonian

Ref did us a favour with the penalty. But however it happens I'm a happy boy with 3 pts

And that's 6-2 on aggregate in the league against City this season

Stevo_666

Chris Bass wrote:

Villa are terrible arent they!! but 6 liverpool players scored and villa still managed to stop benteke
1

Villa must be crap if Liverpool put 6 past them...

Stevo_666

Kingstonian wrote:

Ref did us a favour with the penalty. But however it happens I'm a happy boy with 3 pts

And that's 6-2 on aggregate in the league against City this season

The Spuds have certainly taken a bit of the shine off Arsenals win today.

Race for the top spot is getting very interesting!

pinno

Phew !

verylonglegs

I think Man City are paying the price for having a man who's effectively sacked in charge. Always a strange place to put a club in, telling the manager he has no future but keeping him there.

pblakeney

As opposed to LVG, who has quit but not gone.

pinno

verylonglegs wrote:

I think Man City are paying the price for having a man who's effectively sacked in charge. Always a strange place to put a club in, telling the manager he has no future but keeping him there.

I feel a little for Pellegrini. He has been nothing but professional during this period.
They are lacking Kompany at the back. Seems he is key to their defence. Bit like Chelsea without Terry or when Manyoo were successful, Vidic or Ferdinand alone were hopeless but as a pair, were very good.

city_boy

Pinno wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

I think Man City are paying the price for having a man who's effectively sacked in charge. Always a strange place to put a club in, telling the manager he has no future but keeping him there.

I feel a little for Pellegrini. He has been nothing but professional during this period.
They are lacking Kompany at the back. Seems he is key to their defence. Bit like Chelsea without Terry or when Manyoo were successful, Vidic or Ferdinand alone were hopeless but as a pair, were very good.

He's a lovely bloke who carries himself with great dignity...the sort of fella you want to be successful at your club.
However, those attributes alone fall way short of what's required to be a good manger. I would argue that he has been anything but professional.

His stubbornness, tactical incompetence, inability to coach and prepare a team border on dereliction of duty. Had Pep not been in the pipeline, he would have been deservedly sacked long ago.

How far he has regressed this squad over the last 3 years is frightening. I only hope that by allowing him to bumble on to the end of the season doesn't cause irreparable damage for next season.

pinno

You are a bitter and twisted man City Boy.

When you look back through Mark Hughes then Sven's reigns, this has been a long long path to building up a club to the potential of the Bayern's, the Barca's and the RM's.
I do not think that before this point in time, MC could have attracted the World Class managers (which you and others at City have slowly come to expect), such is the rising profile of the club.

Stevo_666

City Boy wrote:

How far he has regressed this squad over the last 3 years is frightening. I only hope that by allowing him to bumble on to the end of the season doesn't cause irreparable damage for next season.

I wouldn't call it irreparable, he's not that bad. Pep's biggest challenge will be filling all those empty seats

city_boy

Pinno wrote:

You are a bitter and twisted man City Boy.

When you look back through Mark Hughes then Sven's reigns, this has been a long long path to building up a club to the potential of the Bayern's, the Barca's and the RM's.
I do not think that before this point in time, MC could have attracted the World Class managers (which you and others at City have slowly come to expect), such is the rising profile of the club.

I guess I can't deny the charge of being bitter and twisted :twisted:

You have to take a manager's performance in the context of the resources they have to work with. Against my initial reservations, Sven actually did a decent job in the first year of Thaksin's ill fated reign and, despite the Middlesbrough result :roll: , had started to put together a decent squad who were playing good football. Hughes was OK(?), but was caught in the transition of the takeover and the new owners wanted their own man.

Mancini was the first modern day City manager who, IMO, fell into the world class category. Admittedly he didn't do himself any favours, but he was also let down by Marwood and the board when he wanted to push on and strengthen the squad after we'd won the title. Instead, he got lumbered with average players like Rodwell, Sinclair and Xavi Garcia and then he threw his toys out of the pram and poisoned the dressing room.

My gut feeling is that Pep had a gentleman's agreement with the ex Barca boys and MP was brought in as a safe pair of hands on a nightwatchman basis in full knowledge of the situation. This is where my point about context comes in. He took over what I believe to be the best squad in the league at the time and added to that with very good players like Fernandinho, Negredo and Jovetic. Following his first 'successful' (on the back of Mancini's groundwork) season, he has systematically weakened the squad, failed to implement effective tactical strategies and destroyed the confidence and performance levels of some world class players.

6 points out of a possible 30 against top 8 opposition this season tells its own story with regards to his standing as a top class manager.

I certainly don't have any feelings of a divine right to win anything, but I do have (and always have had) expectations of the City team to play to their potential where the total at least equals the sum of the parts. Pellegrini fails on this front with alarming regularity :evil:

kingstonian

Completely agree with your view of MP, City Boy. With the talent in the squad he should be able to form a far stronger team.

In some ways he is the opposite to Poch, who has a team playing far greater than the sum of its parts. And Ranieri has achieved exactly the same this season too.

chris_bass

Whilst i'm not trying to take anything away from Spurs or Leicester (especially Leicester) I think they are just doing well, not great but the usual top 4 seem to self destruct every few games.

Last year Leicester would be 3rd with 53 points after 26 games, the year before they'd be 5th and the one before that 3rd again.

chris_bass

Arsenal stoop to new lows to stop Leicester!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-le ... e-35605670

turbotommy

Chris Bass wrote:

Whilst i'm not trying to take anything away from Spurs or Leicester (especially Leicester) I think they are just doing well, not great but the usual top 4 seem to self destruct every few games.

Last year Leicester would be 3rd with 53 points after 26 games, the year before they'd be 5th and the one before that 3rd again.

You must be bored... Saying how this years Spurs and Leicester teams would have done last season, based on points from this year doesn't work.

In the past Man Utd have won the league on many occasions with far less competition and been considered to have had great seasons. Whoever walks away with the spoils this year I think can claim to have had a great season.

There's no such thing as the usual top four. Not really. not anymore.

pinno

Well, the first PL in eons (possibly ever) that the top 4/5 aren't the usual suspects and it's 'all change' ?!

turbotommy

How long have man city been considered the usual suspects? When did Liverpool stop becoming one of the usual suspects? It's not all change no. But there's no such thing as the usual 4 at the moment.

The leagues more open than it's ever been. Yes some teams have underachieved this season. But to compound that, other teams have pushed forward. TV money and massive foreign investment mean that no established team can assume to maintain the status quo I'm afraid.

pinno

I don't disagree except that the one's that have come to the fore (not incl. Leicester) have slowly evolved.
Tottenham at this time of year during Redknapp's reign were top.
Southampton 2 seasons ago were flying but it was brief.
Blackburn won it once but Manyoo are 5th, Arsenal are in the mix as usual, City have been challenging for the title for 5 years(?). Tottenham are rarely out of the top 7. Chelsea are suffering 1 blip of a season. Is it all that different?

pblakeney

Pinno wrote:

I don't disagree except that the one's that have come to the fore (not incl. Leicester) have slowly evolved.
Tottenham at this time of year during Redknapp's reign were top.
Southampton 2 seasons ago were flying but it was brief.
Blackburn won it once but Manyoo are 5th, Arsenal are in the mix as usual, City have been challenging for the title for 5 years(?). Tottenham are rarely out of the top 7. Chelsea are suffering 1 blip of a season. Is it all that different?

If you swap Manyoo for Tottenham and Leicester for Chelsea, then no change.
But that is a massive swing for Leicester and Chelsea.

pinno

Leicester are not going to be a long term top of the division team.
Dunno about Tottenham.

pblakeney

Pinno wrote:

Leicester are not going to be a long term top of the division team.
Dunno about Tottenham.

And that is what makes this season so very different. Vive la difference!
And, why not for Leicester? They have money and a top manager. Throw in Champions League as a draw for players...

pinno

Says it all really...

pblakeney

Pinno wrote:

Says it all really...

Looking down the tunnel.
Tom, Dick or Harry?

turbotommy

Pinno wrote:

Is it all that different?

It's different in the sense that I don't think we can assume who the top four is going to be anymore. In years gone by you could probably go beyond that and predict their positions within 2 places

This summer could be really interesting. Man city, man Utd and Chelsea are at real cross roads.

I wouldn't bet on man Utd and Chelsea both getting top four next year.

Leicester could easily be a one season wonder, but their not the only team capable of pushing on.

Just my two pennies worth though.

Stevo_666

I see City are getting their excuses in early...

Stevo_666

...looks like they needed them as well. Watch and learn with the Champions

Matthewfalle

Ok, it was against a City youth team, but very happy with that - brilliant confidence boost, no injuries, great run out for everyone.

Bring on the Saints on Saturday: 2-1 to Chelsea?

Stevo_666

Not worried about the scoreline as long as we get 3 points in the bag.

Saw this and it made me smile:
https://m.facebook.com/ynfathehub/photos/a.615368661833366.1073741828.516588825044684/982779161758979/?type=3&source=48&__tn__=E

Stevo_666

https://m.facebook.com/ynfathehub/photos/a.615368661833366.1073741828.516588825044684/982244838479078/?type=3&source=48&__tn__=E