Or Falcao! Which seems likely since he falls over a lot while taking his infamous airshots
Our rival's squads next year - Man City
- Thread starter Wumminator
- Start date
I didnt dispute any of this.
Their front 4 is perfectly balanced with blistering pace in the 2 wide forward positions and a #9 and #10 that are both world class. They also play the 4-2-3-1 with more adventure than us as they don't use 2 DM's.
He is. At any rate, if you had to pick 2 CM's from the options of City and United, you'd be an absolute fool to not pick Toure as one of them.
I know, but your argument that City's squad will be tested in the case of injuries and fitness could apply equally to any of the top 4.
In general, any teams losing its best players for a long period will find it tough.
Of course it can, and I think that which team is able to get the luck of the draw with regard to those factors, and/or handle them better, will likely win the title, rather than simply who has the best XI as of the first three games of the season. City have played good football but Pellegrini has not impressed me thus far. Even if they do win the league this year, does he really think that City's owners are just going to give him a blank chequebook every single summer, after the millions they have invested in youth development and infrastructure?
City's attack has been good for a while now. It's their defence that gets them undone. Defensively they have started well, which is a worry. But being in touch is the best the rest can do right now and hope they have a blip when kompany and co. lose their focus.
On Redcafe I find it interesting that they are getting a lot of deserved praise from United fans for the way they've started the season and how they're stronger than us at the moment
Yet on Bluemoon the United thread consists of rag, cnuts, hate..etc no matter how we play
Yet on Bluemoon the United thread consists of rag, cnuts, hate..etc no matter how we play
9 league win on the spin now...the record is 14 right?
On Redcafe I find it interesting that they are getting a lot of deserved praise from United fans for the way they've started the season and how they're stronger than us at the moment
Yet on Bluemoon the United thread consists of rag, cnuts, hate..etc no matter how we play
To understand this you have to remember that City fans, particularly the Manc City* fans have had to suffer decades of pisstaking from their Red counterparts. Add in stuff like the banner at Old Trafford and it's not hard to see why you will never get any respect from these guys.
* if you read Bluemoon it quickly becomes apparent that many of the posters are Mancs or exiled Mancs and that many of the more prolific posters know each other in the real world.
Good for City. Bad for the rest of the league. Can't they move the AFCON to January-March 2016?
Very smart by him. Now I really can't see anybody stopping City from winning the title.
Looks like City are going to absolutely run away with the league this year. Full points, +10 GD already, Otemendi and KDB still to come in. Chelsea all over the place, and UNited and Arsenal not looking particularly threatening.
This would be their 3rd title in 5 years, to ours and Chelsea's 1 each. They really are becoming the dominant force in English football. How ever did we ever let this happen?
This would be their 3rd title in 5 years, to ours and Chelsea's 1 each. They really are becoming the dominant force in English football. How ever did we ever let this happen?
Eight points ahead of Chelsea. At this stage of the season that is a big advantage.
Liverpool managed 11 two seasons ago.
Yep, I think by Arsenal.
Liverpool managed 11 two seasons ago.
Another ruddy clean sheet too. They're going to walk the league.
I mentioned in another thread,they seem to have a habit of playing shit the following season after they've won the league,only to win it the following season.
Best team in the league by a distance so far. If we have any intention of winning it, we need to bring in a few reinforcements, most notably up front and at the back. Otherwise we'll fall just short.
It was 11..we felt the pain of each one as they raced towards the title..what a terrible time that was
Thanks..lets hope they lose soon..City do love a good implosion themselves
fair enough,a small mercy they didnt win though,unless were talking about the 80's
This..they are so good yet they are improving themselves..we need to sign, not just to challenge in the league, but also in Europe too..Bayern did it, coming out from the wilderness and then becoming a semi mainstay
Makes it even astonishing they didn't win the title, given that form. Scoring very early in matches.
Massive mercy, they were unbearable..then this and the wheels came off..fair enough,a small mercy they didnt win though,unless were talking about the 80's
It was just written in the stars, 25years after Hillsborough, a year after the resignation of the tyrant Fergie, and with Moyes struggling here, it felt like the shifting of the guard...at the end all that shifted was the grass beneath Gerrard's feet as he stumbled to give it to Demba Ba
Aguero will pick up an injury as per usual and their run of form won't last forever especially with their usual CL nightmares. I'm not saying they won't win the league, they certainly are favorites but people calling it that they'll run away with the league after 4 games is ridiculous.
It's too early to say they'll run away with it, but they'll probably win it anyway. Chelsea have a big disadvantage already so once they get their act together it might be too late and don't see any of the other teams being good enough. That said, City managed to make it difficult for themselves in both previous title wins so I doubt it'll be straightforward.
Their chairman did an interview not too long ago where he said that they are ready to spend big again to bring quality to the team. I think the fact that they have a DoF helps a lot it gives the club more sustainability considering how the modern game is a revolving door of managers. Sterling, Otamendi and now KDB are all top drawer signings who will help their squad immensely even though I think it's too early to say that they'll walk the league.
Without De Bruyne and Otamendi they already are walking the league with 12 out of 4 and 0 goals conceded including a very impressive demolition of Chelsea. With those 2...
I just found out, that you sold Lopes to Monaco. Any comments from a city fan about that? I thought that he is a great talent and he should have been ready to play some first team football.
@Sly how do you rate him?
@Sly how do you rate him?
I rate him as a great talent and possible future portuguese internacional. Our Fa was able of convincing him to opt for us instead of Brazil since he has brazilian parents but was born here in Portugal. Brazilian Fa tried it too, they sent the U20 manager here to try and convince him. My brother´s gf actually knows him since he went to school and grew up in the same city Poiares. He´s a regular on our competitive youth rank national teams and always one of the best players. No offense to BobbyManc but leaving City was the right decision. It´s not exactly the best enviroment for a youngster to evolve due to a very competitive and expensive squad. Going to Monaco and being managed by Leonardo Jardim, a proven manager with good track record with youngsters, was the best solution for him.
That makes sense for the player. I saw him in a few u-national games and the youth-league and he was always great. I just wonder why City didn´t use him the last year or even this year. Sure, Silva, KdB and Sterling would be ahead of him, but Navas and Nasri aren´t really that good. City could have easily used him in 15+ games. City invested so much money in their youth-setup and they have various great talents. Still even when they would have room for them, they refuse to use them. It is the same with Chelsea. Both youth teams are outstanding with various players, who are good enough to play first team football and still nobody gets a chance. It is weird.
I think Pellegrini actually rates him, he has been interviewed by portuguese media about him and said so but my guess is that Rony Lopes and his agent wanted to move back to France since he had a succesful campaign in his loan with Lille. With so many choices Pellegrini probably didn´t give him any guarantees about playing time.
It's impossible to disagree that leaving permanently was his best option. Two record signings this window both in positions Lopes could occupy and neither have yet to hit their peak years. Unfortunately Lopes just was not going to be given enough game time to develop his potential and having to be loaned out to different teams each season is not the ideal environment for a player to progress. Monaco should provide him with first team opportunities and the stability he needs. The price for him was good considering he only had a year left on his contract and there were rumours he did not want to resign unless he was given promises over his role in the team. He's a great talent and a very likeable person so I hope he does well at Monaco.
Nasri is clearly a much better player than Lopes is right now and Navas is a completely different player whose sole purpose is to stay wide and stretch the defence. Lopes would ultimately be competing with Silva, de Bruyne, Sterling and Nasri for a place in the team; a battle he was always going to lose. Plus, if one of those was injured Pellegrini has the option of Bony/Iheanacho to go 4-4-2 or play Delph/Fernando and push Toure up. The reality is he was not going to get the opportunities he needs. Last season as well, Lille was a good move for him, it's just a shame he struggled with injuries.
On this form and with a bit of belief I can see them having a decent run in Europe this season. I wonder if the fans will take an interest in it then?
Your probably right but toure is a very different option to the others, they're not very comparable.
And i think if van gaal was managing him he wouldn't be in a midfield 2 (for better or worse)
Its hard to compare our two teams directly atm imo (though its impossible to claim you dont have the better attacking options).
Anyway its one area of the pitch where i'm very happy with our options.
Well, its kind of like saying, that no youth player will ever get a chance (except some crazy injury crisis hits the team). Iheanacho has Aguero and Bony ahead of him with the option to play sterling in the position. 2 or 3 key players have to be injured, that he´d get a run of games and it is probably not ideal to introduce a youngster to the team, when too many key players are out. Personally I think, that City and Chelsea have two of the most talented youth teams in the world (far more talented than United´s youngsters). It is madness, that they are unable to make room for any of those guys.