What do you think of Man City and the CL

Earl of Leven

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Are they still a bit beige? I find it hard to get worked up either way, and yet they are probably among the top five favourites for the trophy.

Last night folk I know weren't watching them....most had PSG game, and a select few (!) had Atletico v Juve.

When I asked a few folk about the chances of them being hot tips they were pretty indifferent...

Yet they have great manager and players so why wouldn't neutrals get excited? Is it the cash, and the 'plan' that seems so ruthless and joyless? When or if they win a trophy they've spent billions chasing is it really a surprise or of much interest?

What say you?
 
As much as they are a great team to watch, there’s no excitement in their games at all as their fans are absolute trash.

Other games with less entertaining teams are far better to watch due to the atmosphere from the fans.
 
I like Man City but they are not very good at the CL. I think their defensive play needs to improve before they can win this trophy as the likes of Liverpool and Spurs can pick them off over a 2 legged tie. Otherwise they would need a bit of luck to win it, they certainly had no luck with the officials over the last 2 tournaments. No-one's talking about PSG this season so perhaps they can spring a surprise after yesterday's thumping of Real. I think though that Liverpool are favourites as teams are afraid of Anfield.
 
Having supported City - as best anyone can support a '2nd team' - since the early 90s I for one would be absolutely delighted, as I still remember quite clearly how disastrously shit they were during the 90s and 00s so it still would feel a momentous achievement regardless of how rich they are now. It still wouldn't compare to Rangers lifting any European trophy or indeed finally securing 55, but Rangers come first way before City for me and I can live with them never winning the CL. I couldn't live with us not stopping the vermin if heaven forbid they reach 55 before us for example!

Too many bitter anti-City people out there cant see beyond the jealousy and resentment at their literal striking of oil and forget that they were - and still are - a living breathing football club supported by normal match going fans who suffered more than just about any other fanbase over the last 30 years prior to 2008.

If - or when - they do lift the ultimate prize, I hope the majority of football supporters out there at least save some respect, graciousness and happiness for those countless City fans who had to endure the misery and taunts for so long. Those fans deserve it, if not the 'new' plastic tourist fans who have latched on latterly to the club. But then that's no different to Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea etc ....
 
superrangers be like

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They never fill the stadium. It’s bizarre as they’ll tell you all their fans come from Manchester.
 
Some of their fans are totally spoiled. All the success dropped on their lap and they still can't be arsed to show up to massive games. Teams sensational to watch but
 
They never fill the stadium. It’s bizarre as they’ll tell you all their fans come from Manchester.

Simply not true no matter how many times this lie is told.

City have a very loyal following and tickets for non Cityzens are hard to come by.

This lie is right up there with the no atmosphere nonsense spouted by people who couldn’t find The Etihad with an A-Z and a tour guide
 
City are a very nice side but they lack a bit of fight and they'll probably make a dog's dinner of the CL at some point. They have a piss easy group so should win it and get a 2nd placed team in the next round. Good opportunity for them to progress.
 
Care enough to come onto the thread and reply

Fair play in trying to gain staunch points right enough

Not trying to sound staunch at all. Just find it puzzling that there’s a thread saying that someone can’t get excited at Man City when I’m personally just excited for the game tonight. I know I won’t be alone.
 
Simply not true no matter how many times this lie is told.

City have a very loyal following and tickets for non Cityzens are hard to come by.

This lie is right up there with the no atmosphere nonsense spouted by people who couldn’t find The Etihad with an A-Z and a tour guide
Any time I see them (I also have been) there’s seats everywhere.
In fact, I got an email a couple of days ago offering CL tickets for Zagreb.

I’m guessing here, but would Liverpool tickets go on public sale? Would Spurs etc?
 
Not trying to sound staunch at all. Just find it puzzling that there’s a thread saying that someone can’t get excited at Man City when I’m personally just excited for the game tonight. I know I won’t be alone.
So basically lock all other threads until after tonight’s game?
 
Are they still a bit beige? I find it hard to get worked up either way, and yet they are probably among the top five favourites for the trophy.

Last night folk I know weren't watching them....most had PSG game, and a select few (!) had Atletico v Juve.

When I asked a few folk about the chances of them being hot tips they were pretty indifferent...

Yet they have great manager and players so why wouldn't neutrals get excited? Is it the cash, and the 'plan' that seems so ruthless and joyless? When or if they win a trophy they've spent billions chasing is it really a surprise or of much interest?

What say you?

The majority of football fans just don't care about Man City. There's no real rivalry there with other clubs, no tradition, shite fans. It just feels really boring and synthetic seeing them do well.

Each year they win the league in England it's as if that season just didn't happen. The Man Utd fans actually saw it as a victory that they pipped Liverpool to the title last season - that should tell you everything.

Great players, great manager and they play quality football, but at the end of the day nobody really cares.
 
Just feel like such a soulless vessel when you see them playing in CL to a non-full stadium with the whole sugar daddy bankroll thing.

Liked City growing up and hated Man Utd. But strangely I’d rather watch Utd in Europe. Just feels more like it matters.

City’s fans are absolutely crap.
 
I think Liverpool will win the prem, and Man City will turn the dial up on the champ league this season.
I see them winning it.
 
Having supported City - as best anyone can support a '2nd team' - since the early 90s I for one would be absolutely delighted and still remember quite clearly how disastrously shit they were during the 90s and 00s so it still would feel a momentous achievement. It still wouldn't compare to Rangers lifting any European trophy or indeed finally securing 55, but Rangers come first way before City for me and I can live with them never winning the CL. I couldn't live with us not stopping the vermin if heaven forbid they reach 55 before us for example!

Too many bitter anti-City people out there cant see beyond the jealousy and resentment at their literal striking of oil and forget that they were - and still are - a living breathing football club supported by normal match going fans who suffered more than just about any other fanbase over the last 30 years prior to 2008.

If - or when - they do lift the ultimate prize, I hope the majority of football supporters out there at least save some respect, graciousness and happiness for those countless City fans who had to endure the misery and taunts for so long. Those fans deserve it, if not the 'new' plastic tourist fans who have latched on latterly to the club. But then that's no different to Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea etc ....

I like City, probably due to one of my first football kits as a kid was the blue kit with red and white sash back in the 1970's. :) They should enjoy every second of triumph after the shite they've had to put up with in the recent decades.

:
 
they won't win it anytime soon. lacking in certain areas and attitude

They’ll never win it whilst relying on gaff prone defenders like Otamendi and Walker. Two defensive diddies who are always preyed on by the stronger teams. Laporte has a serious injury so even if he returns in the knock out stage he won’t find his old form again until next season at the earliest.

On a side note, I’d love to see them win it purely because I have no allegiance to any English side and I love how bitter and jealous other clubs fans are because City are giving them even more competition and receiving plaudits for playing football like it’s never been played in England. Their top teams are all disgusting when it comes to money and how it’s thrown around so they all give me the boak to a certain extent.
 
Last season a pundit from Spain said Pep makes unusual team selections in crucial CL games.
 
Interesting this season because Barca look suspect at the back, Real are dreadful, can PSG mount a serious challenge? Juve, Bayern, Liverpool?
 
Just feel like such a soulless vessel when you see them playing in CL to a non-full stadium with the whole sugar daddy bankroll thing.

Liked City growing up and hated Man Utd. But strangely I’d rather watch Utd in Europe. Just feels more like it matters.

City’s fans are absolutely crap.
 
Simply not true no matter how many times this lie is told.

City have a very loyal following and tickets for non Cityzens are hard to come by.

This lie is right up there with the no atmosphere nonsense spouted by people who couldn’t find The Etihad with an A-Z and a tour guide

I was at the City v Spurs league game straight after the CL double header & the atmosphere was poor.

The away fans were very quiet which was strange seeing as they just put MC out of the CL game days previously.

I also expected more from the City fans in a must win league game.

I eventually put it down to fan fatigue from the two teams mammoth CL duel.

The less said about City’s ‘Invisible’ song the better :D
 
Simply not true no matter how many times this lie is told.

City have a very loyal following and tickets for non Cityzens are hard to come by.

This lie is right up there with the no atmosphere nonsense spouted by people who couldn’t find The Etihad with an A-Z and a tour guide
For instance, last year against Lyon the attendance was 40,111 now I’m not sure if there was a closure or something?
Against Hoffenheim it was 50k roughly so about 5k empty

I think there was a Fulham game that was 35k
 
Also is it just me or does it feel like even their squad is completely devoid of any sort of character?

At least in previous years they had guys like Toure, Teves & Balotelli playing for them - guys you could always like/dislike, but still enjoy watching.

Their squad this season just feels so boring. Quality players but no personality there. Maybe it's a symptom of football in general these days, but it feels especially prevalent looking through City's group of players to me.
 
One of the favourites for me. Have to be. If they get a kind run in the knockouts it could be theirs for the taking.
 
They’re the English PSG in many ways

I get they have a history, I used to like them in the days of Dickov, Weaver, Goater, Horlock & Morrison.
 
They’ll never win it whilst relying on gaff prone defenders like Otamendi and Walker. Two defensive diddies who are always preyed on by the stronger teams. Laporte has a serious injury so even if he returns in the knock out stage he won’t find his old form again until next season at the earliest.

Add in Stones (if they play him when he's fit again) and you have a sub standard defence.
 
Simply not true no matter how many times this lie is told.

City have a very loyal following and tickets for non Cityzens are hard to come by.

This lie is right up there with the no atmosphere nonsense spouted by people who couldn’t find The Etihad with an A-Z and a tour guide
They can’t give European tickets away.
 
They’re the English PSG in many ways

I get they have a history, I used to like them in the days of Dickov, Weaver, Goater, Horlock & Morrison.

I liked them after that comeback against gillingham in 99 , loved their kits , especially the one they wore that day , in recent years i really don't care much for them like most english clubs
 
In truth I don't quite understand the antipathy towards Man City as some sort of embodiment of bloated billionaire boys club noveau riche excess when Chelsea more or less defined the genre over a decade ago.

If they can win the CL, why not City?

The whole thing is a sham and has been for years.
 
Don't they play Shaktar every year?

I ignored it but I think they'll win it at the expense of the EPL this year.
 
In truth I don't quite understand the antipathy towards Man City as some sort of embodiment of bloated billionaire boys club noveau riche excess when Chelsea more or less defined the genre over a decade ago.

If they can win the CL, why not City?

The whole thing is a sham and has been for years.

Yeah but Chelsea are our ‘blues brothers’ haha. Must admit I don’t remember the same outage when they were the first to drastically bloat the transfer market almost overnight by presenting blank cheques for the likes of Sean Wright-Phillips.
 
I’m not a big fan of them or their manager - I think that if you are pumping hundreds of millions of currency at dominating football then you ought to be dominating as they do.

Guardiola has certainly created an identity of a brand of football being played, of high tempo, of intricate passing, or goals... he has done it at 3 clubs with unbelievable financial resources available to them to recruit and retain some of the best footballers on the planet.
I’d love to see him come off his high horse and get Everton, Esponyol or HSV to play like that in those respective leagues.
 
I’m not a big fan of them or their manager - I think that if you are pumping hundreds of millions of currency at dominating football then you ought to be dominating as they do.

Guardiola has certainly created an identity of a brand of football being played, of high tempo, of intricate passing, or goals... he has done it at 3 clubs with unbelievable financial resources available to them to recruit and retain some of the best footballers on the planet.
I’d love to see him come off his high horse and get Everton, Esponyol or HSV to play like that in those respective leagues.

ESPANYA!
 
They are great going forward but when they come up against a good side who will take the game too them their defence will be found wanting again imo.
 
Brilliant team but too dodgy at the back to win the Champions League to a degree. They'll always have that one game where they gift teams goals, despite being brilliant in the others.

Kompany wasn't the player he was for a few seasons even when he was there. Laporte is good, but Stones is Stones (a good player but a pretty poor defender) and Otamendi should be playing his football at somewhere like Crystal Palace, not Man City. I can't understand why they concentrated more on finding a replacement this summer for Fernandinho instead of spending the money on Maguire or someone like Koubilay, no matter how much he would have cost. I know Fernandinho is getting on but he's still playing at a high level and is good for at least another couple of seasons. They should have kept Delph as perfectly adequate back up to Fernandinho and concentrated on bringing in a top drawer defender like one of the above mentioned.
 
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3 clubs with unbelievable financial resources available to them to recruit and retain some of the best footballers on the planet.
I’d love to see him come off his high horse and get Everton, Esponyol or HSV to play like that in those respective leagues.

Why is that only ever said about Guardiola? Do you think Klopp, Ancelotti, Conte, Zarri, Tuchel, Pochettino or Simeone would be winning the league or CL with Everton, HSV or Espanyol? I think it’s often forgotten that he took over a splintering third place finishing Barca side and became the first La liga side to do the treble, and in his first season. Even the domestic success he had at Bayern was unprecedented in the modern era, so why weren’t other coaches replicating the that before him?

Guardiola probably has more chance than the rest because at the very least he’s shown he’s much more capable of and improving moulding young players, taking them to the next level. The likes of Sterling have benefited greatly. These managers all throw around huge sums of money, but there seems to special rules for Guardiola. The reaction to his first season at City was priceless, it was all “ah it’s not that easy in the mighty premier league is it”, “yeah he’s been found out here now he’s in a real league”, only to go and win consecutive championships with ludicrous points totals.

Truthfully, of the managers I named I still think Simeone is criminally underrated, what he’s done at Atletico is incredible, from relatively mediocre derby bottlers to a side who regularly beat Real, won the Europa League, won the league during the Messi and Ronaldo era in Spain, and came within a whisker of winning two CL finals. That’s pretty unbelievable if you look at the kind of squads he’s had in comparison to his rivals.
 
Are they still a bit beige? I find it hard to get worked up either way, and yet they are probably among the top five favourites for the trophy.

Last night folk I know weren't watching them....most had PSG game, and a select few (!) had Atletico v Juve.

When I asked a few folk about the chances of them being hot tips they were pretty indifferent...

Yet they have great manager and players so why wouldn't neutrals get excited? Is it the cash, and the 'plan' that seems so ruthless and joyless? When or if they win a trophy they've spent billions chasing is it really a surprise or of much interest?

What say you?
I think all connoisseurs of 'the beautiful game' would hardly find City '...joyless...', they are in fact a wonderful team to watch.

It isn't just a matter of 'buying' success either, under Guardiola young players actually improve, they become better technically and more tactically aware. Compare and contrast City's efforts in this regard with their more celebrated rivals across town who have spent obscene amounts of money trying to 'buy success' yet are still a mess. Even the admirable Jurgan Klopp, has described City as '...probably the best team in the world...'.

Personally, I hope they win the CL, (I think they would have done so last year but for Sterling's last second goal against Spurs being cruelly ruled out). But whether not they succeed in winning the CL, perhaps City's and Guardiola's lasting contribution to British football, can be seen in how they have influenced perceptions about the way the game should be played
 
Last night was not really the match to assess the interest or apathy of the neutral.

A complete mismatch with a result that all of us could have predicted. Such group games are mere formalities and bore fests.

Had City been playing one of the top sides I suspect very few U.K. viewers would have chosen to watch any other game.
 
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