Manchester City Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

keane2097

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Ah Xavi, no pessimism allowed tomorrow at all.........No reason we shouldn't do this unless we of course "implode" as is expected of us:D

Don't worry - Spurs are even worse implorers than ye :P

KittyeeTrix

keane2097 wrote: »

Don't worry - Spurs are even worse implorers than ye :P

Well in that case it'll me an implosion of epic proportions!!!!!
Maybe even enough to close British airspace:eek:

God help us all!!!!
Cannot wait tho' even if the auld heart wil be stopping, going, stopping, goi....You get the picture:D

folan

Im an optimistic city fan.

Anyone who wnet to Maine road to watch a match was by pure definition an optimistic City fan.

Or delusional, as my brother often tells me

KittyeeTrix

folan wrote: »

Im an optimistic city fan.

Anyone who wnet to Maine road to watch a match was by pure definition an optimistic City fan.

Or delusional, as my brother often tells me

That's City fans for ya, optomistic or as some would call it, even a bit delusional about things!!!!! Lets hope tomorrow is not one of those times:D
I take it your bro is not a City fan??

I've to give a Junior Cert student a grind tomorrow. Would it be unprofessional to call it off to watch the match? :pac:

folan

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

That's City fans for ya, optomistic or as some would call it, even a bit delusional about things!!!!! Lets hope tomorrow is not one of those times:D
I take it your bro is not a City fan??

No. Hes a Liverpool fan.

'nuff said!

folan

Deleted User wrote: »

I've to give a Junior Cert student a grind tomorrow. Would it be unprofessional to call it off to watch the match? :pac:

Hell no! They should be watching the match too!

brayblue24

Nervous. Very, very nervous:o

SeanKev

This is it lads, the defining moment of the season.
If worst comes to worst, God knows I wouldn't say no to the Europa.

We're more then capable. Me for one.. thought 4th was gone when Carew scored.
We showed Character and we deservedly won.

Let's batter these! CTID.

Hoki

complimentary lasagnas to be given out to all associated with spurs outside eastlands tonight!

folan

Europa shouldnt be sniffed at! Its a massive opportunity for the club again! And I quite fancied us for it 2 years back! It will also promote the club abroad so more visability might just get us a couple of players of that higher class. Although, lets be honest, its still a good long wide margin away from the CL! And CL here we come. Imagine the prospect, 8 Manchester derbys a year!

KittyeeTrix

folan wrote: »

Europa shouldnt be sniffed at! Its a massive opportunity for the club again! And I quite fancied us for it 2 years back! It will also promote the club abroad so more visability might just get us a couple of players of that higher class. Although, lets be honest, its still a good long wide margin away from the CL! And CL here we come. Imagine the prospect, 8 Manchester derbys a year!

8 Manc derbys.....Salivating at the thought of it.:D

Hope we can do this tonight, praying like a mad thing, would even offer up one of the kids as a sacrifice at this stage!!!!

C'mon City

karma_

Complete bag of nerves, don't know if I can even watch.

KittyeeTrix

Gutted, just gutted.....:(

Well done Spurs, hope ye get something outta the experience later in the year....

Gonna console my self with the thought that "ya never miss what ya never had":(

Poor auld Xavi6 won't be a happy chappie when he gets the score tomorrow

mike65

Not like him to not be here. Still could be he has other stuff on right now.

_blank_

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Poor auld Xavi6 won't be a happy chappie when he gets the score tomorrow

I already texted him.

Just three little letters, which should suffice :cool:

_blank_

mike65 wrote: »

Not like him to not be here. Still could be he has other stuff on right now.

He did say earlier that he wouldn't be in a position to watch the game tonight, in fairness to him, he's not avoiding the place.

karma_

Gutted too. Just like to repeat what fluffy said by offering hearty congrats to Spurs, you definitely deserved 4th this year, well done and hopefully you will have a good run to the group stages next season.

It was nice to dream for a while wasn't it in fairness? And there are plenty of positives to take from the season in general, I'm willing to bet we would all have snapped your hand off if you offered us top 5 at the start of the year

KittyeeTrix

karma_ wrote: »

Gutted too. Just like to repeat what fluffy said by offering hearty congrats to Spurs, you definitely deserved 4th this year, well done and hopefully you will have a good run to the group stages next season.

It was nice to dream for a while wasn't it in fairness? And there are plenty of positives to take from the season in general, I'm willing to bet we would all have snapped your hand off if you offered us top 5 at the start of the year

The dream was definitely nice but as you've said there is always next year:)

folan

no complaints, we were outclassed last night by the better team. im not sure what it is were missing, but its definatly missing. maybe its just spirit, too many new players in too short a time! but european football here we come. its second place, but well still finish well above where we did last year, and thats a good move all round.

Next year is going to be a good year. Hopefully only a couple of signings and this summer, give time for players to meld together! we could have won something this year, hopefully we will push for the FA cup next year.

KittyeeTrix

folan wrote: »

no complaints, we were outclassed last night by the better team. im not sure what it is were missing, but its definatly missing. maybe its just spirit, too many new players in too short a time! but european football here we come. its second place, but well still finish well above where we did last year, and thats a good move all round.

Absolutely Folan, heads up and onwards!!!

We've had a good season which didn't quite reach the conclusion we wanted but so be it.
We will be disappointed but not bitter and will stand by our team thru' thick and thin cos we are City fans and that's what we do:) as hard as it is sometimes

keane2097

I was talking to some mates the last night trying to figure out what City will do transfer wise over the summer.

We were having trouble trying to come up with players they could realistically bring in to improve what they have.

Probably the defense could be strengthened a nice bit, but from the midfield forward ye're fairly stacked.

What do ye think?

karma_

keane2097 wrote: »

I was talking to some mates the last night trying to figure out what City will do transfer wise over the summer.

We were having trouble trying to come up with players they could realistically bring in to improve what they have.

Probably the defense could be strengthened a nice bit, but from the midfield forward ye're fairly stacked.

What do ye think?

Honestly, I don't think we need a lot.

Another option of the left wing. A left back, and one attacking minded midfielder.

Thats it, I think everywhere else we are strong. We are hurting in the centre of midfield right now with Ireland being underused imo. Vieira just doesn't cut it, and this I think was evident last night. The game really turned when Barry had to go off.

keane2097

karma_ wrote: »

Honestly, I don't think we need a lot.

Another option of the left wing. A left back, and one attacking minded midfielder.

Thats it, I think everywhere else we are strong. We are hurting in the centre of midfield right now with Ireland being underused imo. Vieira just doesn't cut it, and this I think was evident last night. The game really turned when Barry had to go off.

Yeah that's similar to what I thought as well. I think Bellamy is awesome tbh, so a back-up rather than a first choice left wing makes more sense to me...

I think ye could also do with a new centre-back. Lescott will probably be alright eventually, and Kompany is good along with some of the young guys you have coming through, but Kolo Toure is very weak imo.

KittyeeTrix

I thought Johnson was immense for us......
Lost count of the number of corners he forced for us but was well annoyed by how far from the box Tevez was a lot of the time:(

Gillington

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

I thought Johnson was immense for us......
Lost count of the number of corners he forced for us but was well annoyed by how far from the box Tevez was a lot of the time:(

Exactly what I was saying,there was one point where Tevez was right back and I was goin mad.I know his enthusiasm is excellent and I shouldnt be complaining but if Toure or someone is just gonna launch the ball up when theres only Adebayor(and dont get me started on his inability to win a bleedin header from a kickout!!) up front I have to question Carlos's involvement,its like he doesnt trust the back 4 or midfield to do it.

I dunno,at the start of the season I would have taken 5th spot gladly but theres some points during the season,especially the 2 chelsea wins,where you think you deserve and are gonna claim 4th spot,but alas its not to be.Spurs beat us twice this season deservedly aswell as other excellent results against Chelsea,Arsenal,Wigan etc so good on them I wish them all the best in the CL next year.

Xavi6

mike65 wrote: »

Not like him to not be here. Still could be he has other stuff on right now.

Indeed I did Michael. I was about 1300km north of Perth in a town where I struggled to get any sort of phone signal let alone satellite tv or a stream.

Back now to the harsh reality of failure.

folan

it might be one failure, but its a world above where we failed for the last few seasons, and were on our way up in the world!

KittyeeTrix

Xavi6 wrote: »

Indeed I did Michael. I was about 1300km north of Perth in a town where I struggled to get any sort of phone signal let alone satellite tv or a stream.

Back now to the harsh reality of failure.

Ah now Xavi6, not so much a huge failure but a big setback which will hopefully be rectified next year!!!
Actually would've been easier to have been stuck somewhere with no outside news last night than in here reading "should Mancini go threads":D

racso1975

Not a city supporter but has really hoped you would pull it off last night just cause i thought it would really increase your buying power during the summer. Hopefully you'll still get to bring some great players to the premiership next year

Xavi6

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Ah now Xavi6, not so much a huge failure but a big setback which will hopefully be rectified next year!!!

It was a failure though. Mancini was set a target of 4th, in fact he went so far to stupidly guarantee it.

Hughes was shipped out for not getting 4th even though the season was only half over, and now Mancini has actually failed to achieve the target so presumably he's on his way if we are to be fair.

In the eyes of the owners it is a failure, and that's all that matters really.

KittyeeTrix

Xavi6 wrote: »

It was a failure though. Mancini was set a target of 4th, in fact he went so far to stupidly guarantee it.

Hughes was shipped out for not getting 4th even though the season was only half over, and now Mancini has actually failed to achieve the target so presumably he's on his way if we are to be fair.

In the eyes of the owners it is a failure, and that's all that matters really.

I know, I get what your saying, just hoping that the fallout of not getting 4th won't be too bad:(

SeanKev

Chin up lads, jesus.

So we didn't enter the promise land of the Champions League at the first attempt, but there is no shame in the Europa League, as the Milan's, Madrid's and Liverpool's will tell you (all being recent entrants).

Just before I carry on, let me say congratulations to Spurs and their fans. They deserved it on the night, and they've had a good season. They had the one thing that money can't buy, a real togetherness in their squad and their team. So, well done to them, I hope they get to the Champs League proper and go far. I'd prefer to be battling Spurs for the title in a few years than the rags. let's hope they use this to push on.

Anyway, this season isn't ending how we wished, but at the start of the season, we would have snapped 5th.. agree?

We have played some fantastic football this season, we've done the double over Chelsea, had good results against Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa. The derbies were heartbreaking results, but we pushed them to the very limit each time. Not bad going when against the Premiership Champions (and probable 2nd placed this year).

Tevez has been great this season, we've seen some youth develop in Boyata, Ibrahim, Cunningham and Nimely who all started their first games. Bellamy has proved that he is still a top player and not a one season wonder after some remarked that he would never match his post-January last year form. We have a good partnership developing up front in TeveBayor (a phrase which I'm copyrighting!), and players like Nedum, Garrido, Richards and especially Johnson have all taken great strides forwards in their games. We have Hart to come back too, which will pose an interesting dilemma for next season. Toure in this last part of the season has started to find some form, and we have a real prospect in Kompany at centre back. The pairing of our current captain and his natural successor will work well and with Lescott to come back and the prospect of Boateng or Luiz to come, we'll be fine in the future in defence.

All in all, it's been a rollercoaster of a season, with signings, sackings, cup runs, last minute goals, and several huge 'big game' occasions. When the Sheikh took over, Cook stated that we have a 10 year plan to become one of the biggest clubs in the world. We are, what, 18 months in to it now? We are already challenging for that CL place and I imagine that after a few months of pre-season and a summer in the transfer market, we'll start to see a proper Mancini team rather than a makeshift Hughes team.

You can point and blame a million different things for our failure to get into the CL, but it's all rubbish really, we had numerous chances to overtake Spurs and we didn't, which is why they probably deserve it. They grasped the chances they were given and we didn't.

I don't look at this season as an abject failure to get into the Champs League, I look at this season as a big achievement that we pushed it all the way to the final game and finished with a spot in the Europa League. Considering we finished tenth last year, and changed manager halfway through the season, I'm happy that this is progress. Everybody in the world has started to sit up and notice, even the pro-rag media are still saying that it is just a matter of time for us. City have gone from a laughing stock to a future world dominator in the eyes of lots of people in a year. This is the season that we will look back on as the rising of the phoenix from the ashes. Let's finish it well and give West Ham a good hiding at weekend.

KittyeeTrix

Lovely post SeanKev, my kinda thinking excactly!!:)

Savman

Finishing a couple of points outside a CL place is now considered a failure :eek:

Christ. Falling at the final hurdle and there's talk of sacking the manager!!!! Mental.

everdead.ie

I hope you don't sack Mancini the most important thing now is stability for the club

jesus_thats_gre

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Gutted, just gutted.....:(

Well done Spurs, hope ye get something outta the experience later in the year....

Gonna console my self with the thought that "ya never miss what ya never had":(

Poor auld Xavi6 won't be a happy chappie when he gets the score tomorrow

I appreciate that you guys had hoped to qualify (and not unreasonably so either) but with all the expectation and ultimate disappointment that City fans have experienced in the past few decades, I assume you all would have tempered your expectations significantly just to avoid another potential disappointment? There is also the fact that it is somewhat inevitable that City are going to be a success at some stage in the next few seasons to buoy your spirits.

KittyeeTrix

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

I appreciate that you guys had hoped to qualify (and not unreasonably so either) but with all the expectation and ultimate disappointment that City fans have experienced in the past few decades, I assume you all would have tempered your expectations significantly just to avoid another potential disappointment? There is also the fact that it is somewhat inevitable that City are going to be a success at some stage in the next few seasons to buoy your spirits.

Thanks bud, hoped for it but as you've pointed out (quite rightly) didn't 100% believe it......
As other posters have pointed out, we have completed a good season for "us" and I will be content with that for the moment

We are at the presently feeling "down but not out" if you will:)

PHB

For me, City's squad needs a cull more than anything else. Squad size is huge with players like Benjani, Cruz, Vieira, Sylvinho at least being moved on.

City need to work on their defence. Despite playing two fairly defensive central midfielders in Barry and De Jong, they still concedded 44 goals over the season, the highest of the top 7.

Frankly, I think Kompany is the only one who would be good enough for a title-challenging defence. If City spend any money in the summer, it should be there imo.

Attack is fairly solid. Bellamy is good, and Johnson is a real find. Tevez and Adebayour are good. I think City could do with one really effective top class central midfielder, a goal-scoring one who will help ensure you win those games against the bottom 6.

Gillington

Yeah I definitely agree there needs to be a major clearout before we start thinking about buying players.

Players we can sell/release imo

Sylvinho
Jo
Bojinov(although I'd like to see him given a proper chance,looks like he could stay at parma after a good season)
Caicedo
Benjani

Players we could sell if we got better replacements.*Could be controversial!

Barry
Bridge
Vieira
Toure(not captain material imo)
Santa Cruz
Taylor(if Hart stays)
and perhaps Lescott.Had Richie Dunne size boots to fill and although injuries played their parts he was far from convincing when he did play.

Anyway with the World Cup looming and no-one knowing where Mancini's future lies it'll be a very interesting summer.

karma_

On a brighter note, we could all be in Dublin next year at the Europa final

KittyeeTrix

karma_ wrote: »

On a brighter note, we could all be in Dublin next year at the Europa final

karma_

Although, ths aint so great

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1239123_doubt_over_irelands_city_future


This is the one thing I'm not confident about Mancini being in the Job, the negativity. It's definitely worrying the rumours flying around about who he intends to sell on, Ireland, SWP, Tevez even mentioned.

jesus_thats_gre

karma_ wrote: »

Although, ths aint so great

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1239123_doubt_over_irelands_city_future


This is the one thing I'm not confident about Mancini being in the Job, the negativity. It's definitely worrying the rumours flying around about who he intends to sell on, Ireland, SWP, Tevez even mentioned.

You can have Gerrard for all three

Helix

karma_ wrote: »

Although, ths aint so great

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1239123_doubt_over_irelands_city_future


This is the one thing I'm not confident about Mancini being in the Job, the negativity. It's definitely worrying the rumours flying around about who he intends to sell on, Ireland, SWP, Tevez even mentioned.

im really hoping that irelands relative lack of action this year will have put off the likes of arsenal, united and chelsea. i would absolutely love to see the guy at villa, and hopefully theres a chance

SeanKev

karma_ wrote: »

On a brighter note, we could all be in Dublin next year at the Europa final

Some might say....



..... Fate :cool:

KittyeeTrix

Be nice alright!!:D

folan

I can see Richards going on that oft rumoured Villa trip, Bellers going to spurs, Viera goign to wherever it is he goes, Toure and Lescott fighting it out to be the center back along side Kompany, Harte leaving the club for first team football, Ireland and (M) Johnson leaving, Johnson maybe for a loan to actually try to get some injury free football, everyone out on loan at the minute either being sold or kept on loans. I cant see Robi coming back to the PL. He cant hack it. Not mentally.

Next year should see something resembling a trophy. A semi this year was good, but we could have done better. I have faith in Man City, and if we have a full squad before the start of August, and the time to get them training together for long enough to gel as a team, start playing more comfortable soccer, we could challange for the title. the squad we have now is good enough to do it.

SeanKev

folan wrote: »

I can see Richards going on that oft rumoured Villa trip, Bellers going to spurs, Viera goign to wherever it is he goes, Toure and Lescott fighting it out to be the center back along side Kompany, Harte leaving the club for first team football, Ireland and (M) Johnson leaving, Johnson maybe for a loan to actually try to get some injury free football, everyone out on loan at the minute either being sold or kept on loans. I cant see Robi coming back to the PL. He cant hack it. Not mentally.

Next year should see something resembling a trophy. A semi this year was good, but we could have done better. I have faith in Man City, and if we have a full squad before the start of August, and the time to get them training together for long enough to gel as a team, start playing more comfortable soccer, we could challange for the title. the squad we have now is good enough to do it.

Richards probably, Bellamy won't go, Viera will.
Hart will be our #1, 2/3 of Toure, Lescott and Onuoha will go.
Ireland will go, Johnson & Bridge too I think.

We need 2 excellent defenders, LB & CB.
What we desperately need is a goalscoring playmaker, the link between midfield & attack, that spark of creativity.

Tevez can't do it all.

slingerz

SeanKev wrote: »

Richards probably, Bellamy won't go, Viera will.
Hart will be our #1, 2/3 of Toure, Lescott and Onuoha will go.
Ireland will go, Johnson & Bridge too I think.

We need 2 excellent defenders, LB & CB.
What we desperately need is a goalscoring playmaker, the link between midfield & attack, that spark of creativity.

Tevez can't do it all.

Why would you sell Wayne Bridge??

I think Liverpool would be very interested if he was available