Champions League Citeh

[werthersoriginal]

I certainly doesn't guarantee it, but it massively aids the chances of it. e.g. do you think Pep would have become their manager in their pre-Abu Dhabi days when they tended to be fighting relegation if they were even in the top flight.
Let's not pretend this isn't about money.

Oh of course it’s about money, and over a league season resources will tell, if you choose the manager wisely. But in a cup game the ball can hit a knee and go in or go over, and that’s what’s keeps it interesting.

 

[andystroud]

credit where credit is due ( albeit grudgingl) - to win the Fa Cup, PL and Champions league in the same season is an impressive achievement.

A pet hate of mine:
On one of the many news features that I’ve seen today, one of the journalists stated that “Manchester City had created history by becoming only the second club to complete the treble”.

 

[Jster]

Yeah, that tendency irritates me too.

 

[Sharp Edges]

Not sure what you were watching but there were four Inter players for MOTM before any City players. Best team on the night lost.

Afternoon Baldy, must be hard watching the noisy neighbours take the P**s out of your lot on an annual basis.

Anyone would think you were bitter

 

[Big Ron]

Steve McManaman done my head in

You should count your lucky stars it wasn't Robbie Savage. He's a primary contender for the worst pundit on TV in a very crowded field. I had to switch off in the aftermath of the West Ham game where he was just shouting 'Moysey, Moysey, Moysey.......'.

 

[Sharp Edges]

Before Pep took over at Barcelona they had one la Liga twice in the previous 10 years, the Championship League once in the previous 30 years, no Copa del Rey wins for 10 years.

The next 4 seasons saw 3 last Liga titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Copa del Reys, 3 Spanish super cups, 2 UEFA super cups and 2 FIFA club world cups. He took Barcelona from a club in Real Madrids shadow to the best club team in the world. Yes, Bayern Munich were dominant before and after his time but he maintained their record despite some doubts about whether he could succeed outside of Spain. And Man City have had loads of money thrown at them, but that hasn't guaranteed success for them or anyone else before. But he has overseen 5 PL titles, 2 FA cups, 4 league cups and a Championships League that they were unlucky not to win over the last couple of years.

Pep is undoubtedly a brilliant coach, arguably the best in the world over the last 15 years or so. Not only winning, but playing a fantastic brand of football along the way. Of course having players like de Bruyne and Haaland helps, but there is also the work that he has done with players like John Stones who has gone from an almost joke of a centre half to an incredibly influential player.

You can question the financial side of Man City and their owners, but it's a little churlish to not acknowledge the impact Pep has had in the game.

Agree with all of this, having money helps but how you spend it matters more. De Bruyne was at Chelsea and they off loaded him, City paid £50 million for Haaland who scored 50 goals this season. Chelsea paid £60 million for a reserve left back.

He did his groundwork in the Barcelona B team and believe he inherited a Barcelona team near the relegation zone of La Liga.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

You should count your lucky stars it wasn't Robbie Savage. He's a primary contender for the worst pundit on TV in a very crowded field. I had to switch off in the aftermath of the West Ham game where he was just shouting 'Moysey, Moysey, Moysey.......'.

Agreed - not only is he hugely annoying as a 'pundit' he is (in his own head and with the passing of time) becoming a legendary player, tactical expert, a top notch director of football and an infallible oracle on all things football. He adds nothing.

 

[Sharp Edges]

You should count your lucky stars it wasn't Robbie Savage. He's a primary contender for the worst pundit on TV in a very crowded field. I had to switch off in the aftermath of the West Ham game where he was just shouting 'Moysey, Moysey, Moysey.......'.

My mate is a West Ham fan, he watched the game on silent because of Robbie Savage.....

 

[Scrongo]

You should count your lucky stars it wasn't Robbie Savage. He's a primary contender for the worst pundit on TV in a very crowded field. I had to switch off in the aftermath of the West Ham game where he was just shouting 'Moysey, Moysey, Moysey.......'.

Yeah the thing was, I was listening in Dolby stereo on my head phones. It was drilling & whining through my brain. It was like having Karl Robinson in your head

 

[Manorlounger]

Some pretty horrendous tales of how fans were treated by the Turkish authorities. Enforced bussing, all water confiscated, 2 hours on said bus, no toilets, no water and then dumped in an area unfit for wheelchairs or those of limited mobility.

City fans forced to ‘urinate and vomit’ out of buses as Uefa condemned for final shambles

Supporters travelling to Ataturk Stadium on outskirts of Istanbul were trapped on coaches with drivers refusing to stop for toilet breaks

www.telegraph.co.uk

Manchester City fans, including the veteran television presenter John Stapleton, found themselves trapped on buses in Istanbul without access to water and toilets amid another night of organisational chaos at Uefa’s showpiece Champions League final on Saturday.

The European governing body is under fresh scrutiny the morning after City’s Champions League triumph over Inter Milan, with fans reporting horrific scenes on the buses Uefa and local organisers insisted they take to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on the outskirts of Istanbul.

City fans were forced to urinate out of windows, one eye-witness told Telegraph Sport, when drivers refused to stop for toilet breaks. The two clubs’ fans were kept separate in pre-match planning, with Inter Milan fans directed to Istanbul’s metro system and City fans forbidden from using it. Instead, City fans were directed to a transport hub in Yenikapi outside Istanbul’s centre to take buses to the stadium.
City fan Nick Stapleton, 35, a television journalist and son of John, said that he also saw disabled City fans stranded in gravel car parks that were impassable for wheelchairs. Many of them had to be lifted by fellow supporters with no help from the authorities organising the game. Nick was also told of a City fan who was still at the stadium around 7am the following morning, unable to get a bus direct to the airport.

The problems began when local police told City fans boarding the bus at Yenikapi that they had to throw away bottles of water they had brought with them – despite none being available on board. In the ensuing two-hour journey to cover the 16 miles to the Ataturk Stadium, Nick and John witnessed desperate supporters urinating out of windows and vomiting. On another bus, fans forced the driver to stop to allow them to urinate by the side of the road.

Nick said: “My dad has been attending City matches since 1954 but by the time we got to the stadium on Saturday night he said that this would be his last game. He is 77 and had a hip operation six weeks ago, and we could not even get access to water. After a two-hour journey, we arrived at 5.45pm for a 10pm kick-off to be told that it was last orders for drinks in the Uefa fanzone.”

 

[Marked Ox]

Not sure what you were watching but there were four Inter players for MOTM before any City players. Best team on the night lost.

Only if judged on how dramatically they can fall over with no contact or a brush of a little finger. They were that bad, they made Jack Grealish look an upstanding, never fall over footballer which is some feat.

 

[Grumpy Git]

Only if judged on how dramatically they can fall over with no contact or a brush of a little finger. They were that bad, they made Jack Grealish look an upstanding, never fall over footballer which is some feat.

Yeah once city scored, they managed to stay on their feet.

 

[Grumpy Git]

My mate is a West Ham fan, he watched the game on silent because of Robbie Savage.....

I think Clinton Morrison has to be the worst out there. His mumbling, street slang and murder of the English language has me switching over immediately.

 

[Wallop]

I think Clinton Morrison has to be the worst out there. His mumbling, street slang and murder of the English language has me switching over immediately.

I always think of Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch when Clinton is on the telly.

 

[bazzer9461]

A pet hate of mine:
On one of the many news features that I’ve seen today, one of the journalists stated that “Manchester City had created history by becoming only the second club to complete the treble”.

I couldn’t work out why the news and football pundits were saying if City could make history and so the treble? I’m though the other Manchester side did that….