Champions League Final Thread.

Phil_bfc deux said:
You mean like in the 80s when Liverpool won everything with gambling money

What's the difference?
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Fair enough but Everton and Arsenal didn’t win their titles because they outspent Liverpool. And it took Liverpool about 20 yrs to win another title once the 80s had finished. Nowadays once you secure your sheik you are set for generations. But if you are a fan of unfettered capitalism then fill your boots,
 
You've got to give Inter Milan credit in how they set up and prevented City from dominating possession and building up their usual momentum. Of course money helps but Chelsea have spent loads more this season and thought Frank Lampard was a better coach than Graham Potter! Guardiola is a football genius anyone who can get John Stones playing like Franz Beckenbauer has got to be up there with the greatest of all time.
 
phill said:
Don't get jack grealish rarely creates anything all he seems to do is dive invite fouls and come inside and pass back .Contributed zilch to that game as usual
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That's because he's shit. He even admitted the last 2 games he was dire on BT after the game.

But he kind of fits. He's worth his transfer fee in merchandise alone I'm sure.

And despite me always (correctly) pointing out that Grealish is an extremely limited player that was only noticeable as a big fish in a small pond when Villa were in the Championship I actually like him.

He 100% comes across as a smashing lad and is both compelling and refreshing in his honesty and passion for football when he's interviewed. He'll have a really big career on TV after football if he wants it.

Glad City won.
 
Is there anything quite as rubbish as the modern day trophy lift? When we beat Lincoln we couldn't even see them lift the trophy because they were obscured by some shitty Sky plastic advertising hoarding.
 
Dr Hfuhruhurr said:
Fair enough but Everton and Arsenal didn’t win their titles because they outspent Liverpool. And it took Liverpool about 20 yrs to win another title once the 80s had finished. Nowadays once you secure your sheik you are set for generations. But if you are a fan of unfettered capitalism then fill your boots,
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Xenophobia towards people from the middle east or Arabs as they are being called on this thread is rife

it's like the World Cup all over again

Spending money is ok if its white British people it seems

Btw aren't you the bloke who bought a truck load of Ice Cream from South Shore and got it transported to London

Money money money eh
 
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How is it good for English football City winning?

The greed will get greedier and the gulf in class greater, teams coming up from the Championship will have absolutely no hope in the PL in a few years to come and those going down will come straight back up due to finances.

Good for English football my arse.
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
Xenophobia towards people from the middle east or Arabs as they are being called on this thread is rife

it's like the World Cup all over again

Spending money is ok if its white British people it seems

Btw aren't you the bloke who bought a truck load of Ice Cream from South Shore and got it transported to London

Money money money eh
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Cant speak for others but my point about the sheiks referenced their vast wealth not their ethnicity.

I don’t get the ice cream to london point I’m afraid 🤣 that ones gone right over me ‘ed.
 
PR3BFC said:
How is it good for English football City winning?

The greed will get greedier and the gulf in class greater, teams coming up from the Championship will have absolutely no hope in the PL in a few years to come and those going down will come straight back up due to finances.

Good for English football my arse.
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What a load of bollocks. Championship clubs get a big windfall and if they spend wisely then they have a chance. No promoted team was relegated last season and just think back to 13 years ago. If Oystons had spent an extra 11 million ( which disappeared into an account) we would have easily survived. At that around that time teams like Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Luton were playing League 2 football.
 
Some of you lot need to get off your moral high horses.

How did Blackpool get out of Lge 1(one of the biggest spenders) AFC Fylde & Fleetwood's success,no one said a thing when the Russian bloke was buying trophy's the list is endless nearly every team fork out or is it just where the money comes from?

Bunch of hypocrites Middle Eastern money is awash in all of the UK not just sport so next time you go to a supermarket,use a bank,take a flight,buy a property etc etc YOUR contributing to their wealth.

Well done Man City take no notice of the haters the PL is more competitive than all of the top leagues in Europe which is normally just the Juventus,Bayern,Madrid/Barcelona,PSG,Rangers/Celtic roadshow which just happen to have more money than anyone else.
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
What a load of bollocks. Championship clubs get a big windfall and if they spend wisely then they have a chance. No promoted team was relegated last season and just think back to 13 years ago. If Oystons had spent an extra 11 million ( which disappeared into an account) we would have easily survived. At that around that time teams like Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Luton were playing League 2 football.
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Yep if we'd have paid the wage of Shay Given out of the that 11 million that he wanted and not that bag of shite Kingson survival wouldn't have been a problem.
 
Dr Hfuhruhurr said:
Cant speak for others but my point about the sheiks referenced their vast wealth not their ethnicity.

I don’t get the ice cream to london point I’m afraid 🤣 that ones gone right over me ‘ed.
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"Ridiculous. You’ll just get the Arab owned clubs dominating the PL and the gap will get wider and wider."

Is what you posted earlier

So is your problem just with money or Arab money?
 
I dont particularly like City, but was supporting them last night as the English club. I also don't think you can understate how difficult it is to complete the treble, which is why it's so rare.

The bottom line is that as a fan of football I enjoy watching exceptional teams, regardless of how they've been put together, and Man City are exceptional right now. Not only that, but there are several English players in there which is brilliant.

Above all else though, I'm pleased for the 32,000 fans of Man City that turned up every week at Maine Rd in what is now league 1. Some may not be around anymore, but most will and they'll be having the time of their lives right now having known what difficult times are.

Well done City for an incredible achievement!
 
John Stones was quality again in that ‘hybrid’ role. So good on the ball.

Wonder if Southgate will use him like that..

I know a few City fans who’ve been there through it all, but like on our trips to Wembley, success has brought a glory supporting tourist element, which sadly oozes modern football.

It’s also mad that they were actually going to be banned from this CL season originally. The PL charges will probably go the same way.
 
Adams Kebab said:
John Stones was quality again in that ‘hybrid’ role. So good on the ball.

Wonder if Southgate will use him like that..

I know a few City fans who’ve been there through it all, but like on our trips to Wembley, success has brought a glory supporting tourist element, which sadly oozes modern football.
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yep, he's good but England are more short of top class centre halves so he's needed at the back much more than in midfield where we already have a few decent players.
 
20togo said:
yep, he's good but England are more short of top class centre halves so he's needed at the back much more than in midfield where we already have a few decent players.
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True but if he can play like that in the role in a final and consistently next season it's going to be impossible to ignore. Same with Trent in his new midfield role. Add Bellingham in and its very exciting.
 
Enjoyed that game.

City the better team, not by much mind, though City seemed very nervous about breaking Inter down as if they didn't expect to.

As for buying the trophy, err I don't think so. United have outspent City by a silly amount over the last 10 years. Grealish cost 100m, but bar that I think it's all been normal fees by international standards. The manager deserves the praise, who thought he'd turn Stones, Aki and Ajanki (sp) into the palyers they are? Or did they buy some sort of transformation machine for 20 billion pounds?

Congratulations.
 
Adams Kebab said:
John Stones was quality again in that ‘hybrid’ role. So good on the ball.

Wonder if Southgate will use him like that..

I know a few City fans who’ve been there through it all, but like on our trips to Wembley, success has brought a glory supporting tourist element, which sadly oozes modern football.

It’s also mad that they were actually going to be banned from this CL season originally. The PL charges will probably go the same way.
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Can't see any of the City players being involved against Malta on Friday Macedonia Monday probably but I do prefer Bellingham and Rice in there over Stones who is our best CH.
 
PNENIL said:
True but if he can play like that in the role in a final and consistently next season it's going to be impossible to ignore. Same with Trent in his new midfield role. Add Bellingham in and its very exciting.
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but Stones is guaranteed starter at the back so as I said the lack of quality in centre of defence would I imagine means that is where Southgate will prefer to play him. But of course it is an option.
 
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poolseasider said:
Yep if we'd have paid the wage of Shay Given out of the that 11 million that he wanted and not that bag of shite Kingson survival wouldn't have been a problem.
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And Oyston would of gratefully received another 100 million and still be at our club. Thank fook we went down
 
phill said:
Don't get jack grealish rarely creates anything all he seems to do is dive invite fouls and come inside and pass back .Contributed zilch to that game as usual
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You’ve watched him all season then, every game? Pep must see things differently eh starting him regularly and in a Champions League final.
 
Adams Kebab said:
John Stones was quality again in that ‘hybrid’ role. So good on the ball.

Wonder if Southgate will use him like that..

I know a few City fans who’ve been there through it all, but like on our trips to Wembley, success has brought a glory supporting tourist element, which sadly oozes modern football.

It’s also mad that they were actually going to be banned from this CL season originally. The PL charges will probably go the same way.
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That’s what people don’t talk about enough, how Pep can transform a player as he has done - playing Stones in that role and making him believe he can do it is the genius - he hasn’t just bought that, Pep has moulded it.
 
phill said:
Don't get jack grealish rarely creates anything all he seems to do is dive invite fouls and come inside and pass back .Contributed zilch to that game as usual
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Grealish increasingly refuses to go down the line against full backs. Nine times out of ten he cuts back onto his right foot before passing the ball backwards. More often than not he falls over when challenged. He's so predictable he's a dream opponent for any decent defender. That said, he seems like a decent bloke and obviously fits into the manager's plans.
 
tommytwojags said:
Grealish increasingly refuses to go down the line against full backs. Nine times out of ten he cuts back onto his right foot before passing the ball backwards. More often than not he falls over when challenged. He's so predictable he's a dream opponent for any decent defender. That said, he seems like a decent bloke and obviously fits into the manager's plans.
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He's certainly not the free flowing 'dribbler' he was at Aston Villa.
 
let's all stick the knife into Grealish. Rather sad really. Pep is all about his teams keeping possession of the ball, playing percentage football. If that means Grealish passing backwards but City keeping hold of the ball then so be it Just the same with Silva, Gundogan, and most other City players. If Grealish didn't do as he was asked by Pep he'd soon be out.
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
"Ridiculous. You’ll just get the Arab owned clubs dominating the PL and the gap will get wider and wider."

Is what you posted earlier

So is your problem just with money or Arab money?
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As I said earlier its the almost limitless moolah that the Arabs are prepared to shovel into the clubs they buy that is my point. These aren’t individuals these are
countries effectively. The Saudi PIF is a fund through which the Saudis invest the country’s money. Its reported to have £500 billion sloshing around in it. Similar set up for Citeh, but UAE owned. Manure may join them if the Qataris take over.

Wouldnt matter if they were Chinese or Singaporean or Norwegian, its the scale of the funds available.

I hope im wrong and it all works out wonderfully and we get a variety of teams winning the PL and qualifying for the CL and EL - but I can’t see it.
 
20togo said:
let's all stick the knife into Grealish. Rather sad really. Pep is all about his teams keeping possession of the ball, playing percentage football. If that means Grealish passing backwards but City keeping hold of the ball then so be it Just the same with Silva, Gundogan, and most other City players. If Grealish didn't do as he was asked by Pep he'd soon be out.
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People don't seem to understand that it's better to keep the ball rather than try 50/50 %age passes and wait for the 90/10 pass.
 
20togo said:
let's all stick the knife into Grealish. Rather sad really. Pep is all about his teams keeping possession of the ball, playing percentage football. If that means Grealish passing backwards but City keeping hold of the ball then so be it Just the same with Silva, Gundogan, and most other City players. If Grealish didn't do as he was asked by Pep he'd soon be out.
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Agreed - Pep doesn’t take any passengers and is quite ruthless, so think I’ll trust his judgement over a season than the internet managers. Grealish has grown as a player and clearly follows Pep’s game plan which is why he is starting games regularly now, as well as the small matter of a Champion’s League final.
 
Apologies if this has had a mention elsewhere, (but I've taken a hay fever tablet, and the instruction pamphlet enclosed in the box specifically advises that I should refrain from operating machinery, driving, or posting on AVFTT.. so if it has been discussed prior, then I wholeheartedly apologise, and suffer the consequences!)
I've forgotten what I was going to say now!!

Oh yeah...... Did anyone else find it refreshing that the referee allowed the game to flow when ever he could, took no sh1te from prima donna's, and made his own decisions 'on the hoof' rather than the game being about VAR....!
 
The thing which annoyed me was that the Inter players are just cheats.
Diving & cheating every time City players got near them etc.
The Ref deserves a slap on the back because most times he ignored it.
He must have refereed Italian teams before. 😉
 
20togo said:
let's all stick the knife into Grealish. Rather sad really. Pep is all about his teams keeping possession of the ball, playing percentage football. If that means Grealish passing backwards but City keeping hold of the ball then so be it Just the same with Silva, Gundogan, and most other City players. If Grealish didn't do as he was asked by Pep he'd soon be out.
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A bit like the stick Henderson gets on here as well 20's. By people who appear to not understand football. I'd certainly trust the judgement of Guardiola and Klopp before some of the 'experts' on here
 
Davepick said:
The thing which annoyed me was that the Inter players are just cheats.
Diving & cheating every time City players got near them etc.
The Ref deserves a slap on the back because most times he ignored it.
He must have refereed Italian teams before. 😉
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tbf, I expected Inter to be much worse with their histrionics. In fact, didn't think they were too bad at all.
 
poolseasider said:
Can't see any of the City players being involved against Malta on Friday Macedonia Monday probably but I do prefer Bellingham and Rice in there over Stones who is our best CH.
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He's our best CH without a doubt, which isn't saying much. It would appear the second best, in Southgate's opinion, is McGuire. As 20's said in a previous post, you can't move Stones out of that position and then have to rely on McGuire. It does show the dearth of talent we have at CH. Such a shame because we have quality and strength in depth everywhere else.
 
Dr Hfuhruhurr said:
Fair enough but Everton and Arsenal didn’t win their titles because they outspent Liverpool. And it took Liverpool about 20 yrs to win another title once the 80s had finished. Nowadays once you secure your sheik you are set for generations. But if you are a fan of unfettered capitalism then fill your boots,
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You can spend loads but it doesn't quite guarantee winning anything.

Look at Forest. They've spent more than City this season.

As for Chelsea...they've thrown money at it, but have never looked like a team.
 
Wizaard said:
You can spend loads but it doesn't quite guarantee winning anything.

Look at Forest. They've spent more than City this season.

As for Chelsea...they've thrown money at it, but have never looked like a team.
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But City aren't being charged with spending money.
Of course you're correct in that spending money doesn't guarantee success.
You only have to look at Everton for proof of that.
You still have to coach the players and build a team that can win trophies. A thing which Guardiola has done very well.
Of course it helps when you can spend big sums on said players.
But without the alleged financial irregularities over 14 years , would City have been able to afford those players and more to the point,
managers like Guardiola?
 
RUSTY_2_STANDS said:
But City aren't being charged with spending money.
Of course you're correct in that spending money doesn't guarantee success.
You only have to look at Everton for proof of that.
You still have to coach the players and build a team that can win trophies. A thing which Guardiola has done very well.
Of course it helps when you can spend big sums on said players.
But without the alleged financial irregularities over 14 years , would City have been able to afford those players and more to the point,
managers like Guardiola?
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Let's see what happens. As we're always told, innocent until proven guilty.
 
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