Fabinho has been absolutely appalling in the 1st half - 1st touch of a racehorse tonight.
In our group we had a Burnley and a Villa fan.
Watching the two of them squirm on the edge of their seats almost as much as a die hard City fan was hilarious. We all came out quite exhausted.
As good as City were, I loved watching Modric pull the strings in the middle of the park and Benzema being Benzema.
Rumours on Twitter of the demise of Mino Raiola..
EDIT - breaking everywhere now, seems confirmed
Last edited by demonloop; 28th April 2022 at 12:58.
Nope , he’s still kicking it seems .
Must be waiting for his cut of the Haaland deal .
Saka definitely going to Liverpool then?
Yep, come to me for all your football predictions and then place money with the bookies for the exact opposite to happen. Easy riches!
The Klopp news is huge for Liverpool. Best coach in the world?
Be gutted to see Klopp leave he is just brilliant in so many ways
RIAC
Din't think United would get anything from Chelsea fixture but I suppose thats Ronaldo for you.
Miles off the pace, disinterested, devoid of any desire. And that was just Rashford!
Jokes, the whole team (I use the word lightly) were terrible from beginning to end. So much space for Chelsea, so many players toddling around like it was a fat dads 7 a side
But yeah, Ronaldo great tight touch and finish
Lucky point
He inherited an ageing squad (probably the oldest in PL at time) that needed huge overhaul. We’ve lost Kompany, Silva, Touré and Aguero and yet are still challenging year in year out. Fernandinho and KDB are the two longest serving players there now.
I think Klopp and Pep have different strings to their bows. Pep has a way he wants teams to play and he buys players that can play this way so that if someone is injured or rested another player can slot in and still play the same way.
Klopp comes across as much more of a people manager than Pep and he’s bought very well lately.
I hope Klopp’s extension will persuade Pep to extend and continue this great rivalry. Both of them are raising the standards of the PL and we should enjoy it whilst it lasts.
I think if Pep wins the Champions League this year he may start looking at pastures elsewhere in the not too distant future.
Don't see him being that Klopp in love with club type of guy, though obviously City's finances could persuade him otherwise.
I have always felt the he may one day fancy a nostalgic return to Barcelona and everyone knows they could do with him right now.
What do finances have to do with it , really ?
Mega bucks Man City splash the cash on greedy Guardiolas £19 million a year whilst frugal Liverpool pay poor old Jurgen a pittance of only £16 million . That kind of love you mean ?
Pep and Klopp are at the clubs because they are bloody good at what they do and they get well paid for it too. Neither of them would be there if they weren’t paid accordingly.
I know we will soon be seeing the back of Guardiola ( although I do think he will extend) and there will always be the Cheque book manager insult thrown at him by some but his and Klopps time in the Premier League has been nothing short of sensational.
No you misunderstand my point I think.
Pep stayed in his previous management jobs for 4 years and 3 years respectively. He is known as manager who likes a fresh challenge and the fact that he has been at City since 2016 already makes this his longest stay.
I just feel he may leave for a different challenge if he wins the Champs League, with nothing left to prove at City. My money reference is simply that if anyone can try and make him change his mind and go against what he has historically done then it is City, they have financial means matched by no other club now that Roman has given up Chelsea.
Tripling the £19 million he is currently on may well tempt him, but then again he may well feel he has enough and leave anyway. Klopp could not be tempted by a similar offer should he have decided he wanted a fresh challenge is my point.
I think Pep is worth every single penny personally, but to say finances have nothing to do with things is naive and to suggest any club except Chelsea (Under Roman) and perhaps United can compete with City financially is disingenuous.
For the record I have never subscribed to the 'money guarantees success' mantra and concede that even with all the money in the world, City without Pep as manager would not have been as consistently successful as they have been.
I was not referring to Pep as a chequebook manager rather City as a chequebook club with finances to make most change their mind.
And I agree they have both been sensational and long may they both continue in the Premier League.
Last edited by tango; 29th April 2022 at 13:04.
I think Pep will stay for longer, where else could he go that already has a world class squad? no clubs in Italy, maybe PSG, I cant see him ever managing Madrid with his Barca history, so unless he goes back to Barca or Bayern not many options out there.
Many good points in this. It’s all good and well talking about history and legacy etc but everyone has to start somewhere. Liverpool and United’s current global popularity stems from success earned decades ago when they were the richest clubs in England and had the best players. City have a history and success prior to Mansoor but for the club to reach a global market they have to win on the levels Liverpool and United did before them and that doesn’t happen overnight. People slag City off for games not being sold out but the vast majority of City fans are local, not flying in from around the world. Plus their success means plenty more games and, with the cost of living as it is, people have to prioritise.
I don’t think Pep would go back to Barcelona. He comes across as the been there, done that sort of guy. He’s talked about managing a national team before so perhaps that’s his next job. But at City he’s got his old Barca bosses there and everything he needs…. It’s just whether he feels he can still improve the team. Should they land Haaland I’d be more surprised if he doesn’t extend.
He previously stated that he wants to take a break - then manage a national team ?
Link
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe bids £4.25 billion for Chelsea...
Rangnick's now part time gig at United has to be one of the better ones around.
Clearly the club doesn't think the club is broken enough to require a full time 'consultant'.
I don’t wish to keep highlighting your posts as I think a fair it of what you said makes sense.
This bit about City being a chequebook club is a bit disingenuous though.
Granted, we spent to get to where we are but are very much self sufficient now . The money is there if needed but there’s no scattergun approach to transfers any more .
To steal a phrase from Ivan , our net spend recently stands up against most .
Spending to eat at the trough is necessary , Newcastle will discover this very soon, and much will be put in the way to try and keep the established history clubs at the top .
I don't have any particular issue with Man City as a club, but to say your net spend is about average (is that what you're implying?) does not ring true for me. It's second only to United from all clubs across Europe. Combine that with the 3rd highest wage bill in the league and the highest paid manager, why would you even argue that City are not a cheque book club? As a fan, does it make you feel the success is less legitimate?
The self-sufficiency piece is highly dubious when you consider much of City's revenues come from linked ownership - basically a way for the owners to get around financial fair play regulations.
City are a fantastic side, that play amazing football, with a superb manager. They just happened to get there because of an awful lot of cash from Abu Dhabi's deputy PM and member of the royal family.
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Yes I will concede City do not unnecessarily spend cash in the way perhaps United did in signing Sanchez and Ronaldo to stop others (City) from having them. There is very definitely a sound system and policy in place and they seem to have an upper limit on price despite having infinite state wealth behind them.
I still feel you miss my point though. I was not at all implying City's spending equalled success. I was merely making the point that in the case of trying to convince Pep (or any other player) to stay longer at the club, they have the financial means to make an offer that can't be refused. Not many other clubs have that ability, Liverpool certainly did not when it came to convincing Klopp. It's not the only reason Pep would stay off course but we have to admit it's an added string to City's bow that few others have.
I do not however understand your point about trying to keep the established history clubs at the top, a club makes it's own history as City is doing now and there is no great conspiracy to be found, had this been the case Liverpool would not have had 30 years in the wilderness.
I am sure you would not be comfortable if the same allegation was levelled against City in 20 years from now, by fans of whichever team happened to be doing what City are doing currently.
No, I didn’t imply that at all. I said , or at least I meant, lately.
I said we had to spend to get to where we are now. The club as a whole is now an attractive place to be for any footballer. We are mixing it with the old established order and the fact is that the finances had to be in place to compete.
The FFP issue crops up all the time and has been proven to be a nonsense. It was heavily weighted to protect the old cartel .
Our sponsorships are invariably linked to the clubs owners and where they come from, but that is less and less the case these days .The majority of our sponsorship comes from other sources. Coupled with the fact that a percentage of the club has been sold to a Chinese body and an American consortium further highlights that we are less reliant on ADUG .
Finally, how does anyone legitimize success?
There’s not a club in the Premier League that doesn’t have massive cash investments and /or dodgy sponsorships , so no, I don’t have to justify it.
Mino Raiola has passed away confirmed now.
Some real high profile players now needing to find a new agent.
Last edited by tango; 30th April 2022 at 19:19.
Massive massive for Everton if they hold on!
Well deserved for Everton - Pickford played a blinder
Massive win for Everton! Jordan Pickford take a bow. His little arms were outstanding today.