CL- Manchester City v FC Barcelona - 19:45

Timmyctc

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

One thing is clear, Barca will miss Victor Valdes.

That was a world class save from Dzeko. If City had scored that...

:pac: Valdes is one of the most ordinary keepers in the world. Barca up till recently haven't needed a good Keeper as their other 10 were simply sublime.

Corholio

City need about 2 new centre backs to compete in matches like this. Thought City shot themselves in the foot by being a bit cowardly in the first leg.

Neeson

Tinie wrote: »

Has eamo had work done on his eyes?

Leave him alone. He has a vodka down on a little table beside him. Bill said it in his book. Bill has a table with loads of cups of tea. Giles usually has a whiskey. Liam a water. It's in the book.

Vinz Mesrine

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

One thing is clear, Barca will miss Victor Valdes.

That was a world class save from Dzeko. If City had scored that...

They are signing one of the best goalkeepers on the planet, they will not miss Valdes.

elefant

Some of the anti-Barca bias on here is borderline cringeworthy.

Where did this collective vitriol come from?!

Lumbo

elefant wrote: »

Some of the anti-Barca bias on here is borderline cringeworthy.

Where did this collective vitriol come from?!

Fans of teams previously beaten by Barca.

smileyj1987

PerrinV2 wrote: »

Where is Andersonisgod?

Typing a post that us mere mortals can't make heads nor tails of .

Ulysses Gaze

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

They are signing one of the best goalkeepers on the planet, they will not miss Valdes.

If he adapts to the level of pressure that will be on him from day 1.

Rayne Wooney

Jesus imagine Messi leaving

Timmyctc

Lumbo wrote: »

Fans of teams previously beaten by Barca.

"If you don't like Barca you don't like REAL football etc etc etc"

GavRedKing

Timmyctc wrote: »

Ah tbf. If you were in their position you would certainly want to give the Ref a piece of your mind RE: how **** he was. In the heat of the moment nothing is straightforward.

100% i would, id be beyond annoyed with his performance.

Vinz Mesrine

Lumbo wrote: »

Fans of teams previously beaten by Barca.

I can't remember the last time Barca beat Liverpool so that's incorrect. I'm just fed up of a lot of people destroying their boxers while watching this team and the crooked officials who always seem to have their matches.

eagle eye

You won't hear me complaining about referees that often but tonight City were up against 12 men from the start. It was a disgraceful refereeing performance and left City with no chance of pulling what would be a miracle upset against 11 men in the Nou Camp.

Corholio

elefant wrote: »

Some of the anti-Barca bias on here is borderline cringeworthy.

Where did this collective vitriol come from?!

Mainly the pro Barca bias.

GavRedKing

Lumbo wrote: »

Fans of teams previously beaten by Barca.

Nah, weve a better head to head vs Barca over the years so ill take that.

Mushy

eagle eye wrote: »

You won't hear me complaining about referees that often but tonight City were up against 12 men from the start. It was a disgraceful refereeing performance and left City with no chance of pulling what would be a miracle upset against 11 men in the Nou Camp.

Cos Barca didn't have a stonewall penalty not given or a perfectly good goal ruled offside!

Skylinehead

eagle eye wrote: »

You won't hear me complaining about referees that often but tonight City were up against 12 men from the start

From the start where Messi should have had a blatant penalty and Barca had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out? Pull the other one, he was bad but for both sides.

Moneymaker

I really am worried the World Cup will be ruined by bad officiating.

The referee wasn't just bad for City, he was atrocious in everything he did.

blueser

The better team won, but the ref was absolutely atrocious. 4 shockingly bad decisions; a penalty for each side not given. An offside against Barca incorrectly given and Vinnie's goal allowed to stand , despite Lescott standing in front of the 'keeper. Even Zab's red card, while technically the correct decision (dissent, and a second yellow card) came as a result of bad refereeing, the non penalty decision on Dzeko. Ah well. Onwards to the delights of Hull on saturday.

wotzgoingon

eagle eye wrote: »

You won't hear me complaining about referees that often but tonight City were up against 12 men from the start. It was a disgraceful refereeing performance and left City with no chance of pulling what would be a miracle upset against 11 men in the Nou Camp.

What about that foul on Messi in the box. That was a definite penalty and much more contact than city penalty.

spiralism

Lot of talk about the non-penalty and red but it was after the tie was killed off and Barca were comfortably better over the course of the tie, 3 goals being a fair margin. Do i think Barca are going to win the competition? No but they handled City easily enough.

Refereeing wasnt up to much tonight but Barca were denied a good goal and a penalty in the first half, as well as a good goal in the ethiad which would have rendered this entire match a total formality.

LuckyLloyd

elefant wrote: »

Some of the anti-Barca bias on here is borderline cringeworthy.

Where did this collective vitriol come from?!

This vitriol has been here since 2007. It's a product of the current Barcelona side having a core of utterly reprehensible divers and cheaters. Some people take great umbrage to that and believe it significantly overshadows the supposed quality of the football. Don't act surprised now.

blueser

Corholio wrote: »

City need about 2 new centre backs to compete in matches like this. Thought City shot themselves in the foot by being a bit cowardly in the first leg.

No; we badly need a world class CB to play alongside Vinnie, and a world class LB. Given the choice between getting those two OR getting Messi, I'd opt for the two defenders. And no; I'm not wumming/trolling/joking.

WallyGUFC

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This vitriol has been here since 2007. It's a product of the current Barcelona side having a core of utterly reprehensible divers and cheaters. Some people take great umbrage to that and believe it significantly overshadows the supposed quality of the football. Don't act surprised now.

Once or twice, maybe coincidence alright. But Barca have constantly been on the right side of refs. Tonight and Chelsea in 2010 (?) being the prime examples. Always hounding the referee. Always asking for more cards etc. The likes of Busquets and Alba in particular are disgraceful cheats.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Refereeing performance was the worst I've seen in a long time, Barca should've been out of sight at HT and City were lucky to only finish with 10 men. City were equally screwed over in the second half.

Ignoring the shocking refereeing performance, I thought that Barca were marginally the better team overall, that said, City could easily have brought the game to ET.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

eagle eye wrote: »

You won't hear me complaining about referees that often but tonight City were up against 12 men from the start. It was a disgraceful refereeing performance and left City with no chance of pulling what would be a miracle upset against 11 men in the Nou Camp.

Whatever about the pro-Barca bias (amongst fans) in years gone by, the anti-Barca bias these days is unbelievable. I don't know if people like this believe the shíte they spout sometimes..

elefant

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This vitriol has been here since 2007. It's a product of the current Barcelona side having a core of utterly reprehensible divers and cheaters. Some people take great umbrage to that and believe it significantly overshadows the supposed quality of the football. Don't act surprised now.

Right. And what does any of that have to do with this refereeing performance?

Barcelona 'diving and cheating' didn't make referees in the two legs disallow two good goals and fail to award Barcelona a penalty. Nor did 'diving and cheating' cause City to not be awarded a penalty or cause the contentious penalty in the first leg. Silva did dive and cheat though; poor decision not to book him.

A lot of folk looking for any excuse at all to bash Barcelona here.

spiralism

Think people are indeed going out of their way to slam Barca. Believe me im no lover of the Catalans but they were comfortably better over two legs, a 3 goal margin reflected the tie fairly well and the only contentious decision that went against City came long after they were dead and buried. Barca meanwhile lost a goal in each leg to wrong offside calls and should have had a penalty in the first half tonight.

Timmyctc

elefant wrote: »

Right. And what does any of that have to do with this refereeing performance?

Barcelona 'diving and cheating' didn't make referees in the two legs disallow two good goals and fail to award Barcelona a penalty. Nor did 'diving and cheating' cause City to not be awarded a penalty or cause the contentious penalty in the first leg. Silva did dive and cheat though; poor decision not to book him.

A lot of folk looking for any excuse at all to bash Barcelona here.

They are seperate matters. But its not like Refs haven't gotten Barca through ties in the past and its not like they are ever humble about getting through either. They spout this "Mas que un club" nonsense going round as the biggest hypocrites in world football. When things don't go their own way its tantrums like no one else in football (See turning on the ****ing sprinklers after getting tactically outclassed by Mourinho's Inter for an example) or when things are "going their way" ( outrageous refereeing decisions) they supplement that helping hand with diving and timewasting the likes of which is unparalleled throughout the land. Look no further than Busquets, Neymar and Sanchez for three of the most deplorable players in world football for their theatrics.

Oh the vitriol is there alright but it's fully justified.

Bohrio

elefant wrote: »

Right. And what does any of that have to do with this refereeing performance?

Barcelona 'diving and cheating' didn't make referees in the two legs disallow two good goals and fail to award Barcelona a penalty. Nor did 'diving and cheating' cause City to not be awarded a penalty or cause the contentious penalty in the first leg. Silva did dive and cheat though; poor decision not to book him.

A lot of folk looking for any excuse at all to bash Barcelona here.

Yeah man, it is actually unbelievable. I just cant believe those who blame the referee and barcas cheating being the reason why City is out of the cup...

I mean, just in the first half I remember a gol not given to barcelona, several off side that werent for both teams, and citys last gol seems there was a positional off side as well.

For each barca player that you show me diving or cheating I can show you one in Man city...

Personally I didnt see anything out of the ordinary here

Are people actually that sore?

This must be very amusing for other non Man City fans... seeing them rotten in envy

Turtwig

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Barca win 2-1 for me

I want your lottery numbers.


Barca deserved to win. City weren't up to their level simple enough really. Referee wasn't up to Sunday League and I risk insulting the Sunday League there. Ok, better comparison? Referee wasn't up to imaginary reffing a game in played in the local meadow or bog. Piss poor. Fabregas's interview on the topic was rather funny. He argued that on the score of bad decisions (? in total) Barca win 4-3 or 3-2 can't remember. It just highlighted how awful the referee actually was.

blueser

Bohrio wrote: »

Yeah man, it is actually unbelievable. I just cant believe those who blame the referee and barcas cheating being the reason why City is out of the cup...

I mean, just in the first half I remember a gol not given to barcelona, several off side that werent for both teams, and citys last gol seems there was a positional off side as well.

For each barca player that you show me diving or cheating I can show you one in Man city...

Personally I didnt see anything out of the ordinary here

Are people actually that sore?

This must be very amusing for other non Man City fans... seeing them rotten in envy

Not all of us bud; check my posts further down this page. The better team won over the two legs and yes the refereeing was atrocious, FOR BOTH SIDES, over the two legs.

lala88

Following their Champions League exit, Manchester City fans have declined to sign a one year extension to remain at the club. The fans, who signed from Blackburn in 2003, were also strongly linked to Chelsea but say they will make their final decision pending placement in the Barclays Premier League come 11th May 2014

Turtwig

THFC wrote: »

Whatever about the pro-Barca bias (amongst fans) in years gone by, the anti-Barca bias these days is unbelievable. I don't know if people like this believe the shíte they spout sometimes..

Wonder the same thing too. Don't really care too much about the anti-Barca bias what irks me is the hatred Busquets get. He's cleaned up his act big time. The bad rep he got from the Inter incident actually seemed to have thought him a big lesson. Yet you got players who persist in diving after being embarrassed. Just saying this because Busquets is underrated because of that 'theatrical' bias.

fryup

did eamo have a shine'er?? or some kind of sty?

Neeson

fryup wrote: »

did eamo have a shine'er?? or some kind of sty?

Too much vodka. Not enough coke.

Vinz Mesrine

lala88 wrote: »

Following their Champions League exit, Manchester City fans have declined to sign a one year extension to remain at the club. The fans, who signed from Blackburn in 2003, were also strongly linked to Chelsea but say they will make their final decision pending placement in the Barclays Premier League come 11th May 2014

What age are you, seriously?

Darkglasses

blueser wrote: »

Not all of us bud; check my posts further down this page. The better team won over the two legs and yes the refereeing was atrocious, FOR BOTH SIDES, over the two legs.

Yeah, same here. Best team won for sure, I don't see any of us "rotten in envy"

KombuchaMshroom

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

One thing is clear, Barca will miss Victor Valdes.

That was a world class save from Dzeko. If City had scored that...

On first viewing me and my dad were both wondering how he kept that out.

On 2nd and 3rd viewing though we realised it was a save made very much for the cameras. Very ordinary, nothing any keeper worth his salt shouldn't keep out.

Barca have a lot of players in that squad that they will find tough to replace one day, but I genuinely dont think Valdes is one of them

lala88

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

What age are you, seriously?

Dont cry

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Timmyctc wrote: »

They are seperate matters. But its not like Refs haven't gotten Barca through ties in the past and its not like they are ever humble about getting through either. They spout this "Mas que un club" nonsense going round as the biggest hypocrites in world football. When things don't go their own way its tantrums like no one else in football (See turning on the ****ing sprinklers after getting tactically outclassed by Mourinho's Inter for an example) or when things are "going their way" ( outrageous refereeing decisions) they supplement that helping hand with diving and timewasting the likes of which is unparalleled throughout the land. Look no further than Busquets, Neymar and Sanchez for three of the most deplorable players in world football for their theatrics.

Oh the vitriol is there alright but it's fully justified.

I don't think they were tactically outclassed. They won 1-0 and had another goal perfectly legitimate goal disallowed that would have won them the tie late on. As for the same match, it wasn't so much of a tactical master-class, rather just a park the bus job.

Also, you're picking on the wrong lad with regards to Busquets. I don't imagine you watch much of Barcelona aside from the 3-4 times a year you seem them in the CL.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

lala88 wrote: »

Dont cry

In fairness, it was a fairly pathetic post. Success brings fans. You don't need to look much further than Boards to see that.

blueser

lala88 wrote: »

Following their Champions League exit, Manchester City fans have declined to sign a one year extension to remain at the club. The fans, who signed from Blackburn in 2003, were also strongly linked to Chelsea but say they will make their final decision pending placement in the Barclays Premier League come 11th May 2014

Dear God.

SEPT 23 1989

blueser wrote: »

Dear God.

blueser is on the bandwagon:D

dfx-

THFC wrote: »

Whatever about the pro-Barca bias (amongst fans) in years gone by, the anti-Barca bias these days is unbelievable. I don't know if people like this believe the shíte they spout sometimes..

They don't really. As Messi said himself last year after the 4-0 defeat in Munich that it will take years for people to appreciate the side.

Meanwhile, any port will be searched for in a storm: they don't care who beats Barcelona as long as they do it...and Spain subsequently. You see people ignoring decisions against Barcelona in this thread, no doubt the refereeing decision that will be remembered will be the red card or Dzeko's non-penalty. Anything will be latched onto. There are some who still refuse to rate Busquets. They didn't rate Yaya Toure before him.

It's the same in every high profile Barcelona matchthread since Guardiola took over. Though some are becoming caricatures of themselves at this stage.

Corholio

dfx- wrote: »

They don't really. As Messi said himself last year after the 4-0 defeat in Munich that it will take years for people to appreciate the side.

Meanwhile, any port will be searched for in a storm: they don't care who beats Barcelona as long as they do it...and Spain subsequently. You see people ignoring decisions against Barcelona in this thread, no doubt the refereeing decision that will be remembered will be the red card or Dzeko's non-penalty. Anything will be latched onto. There are some who still refuse to rate Busquets. They didn't rate Yaya Toure before him.

It's the same in every high profile Barcelona matchthread since Guardiola took over. Though some are becoming caricatures of themselves at this stage.

While I agree that some can go a bit over the top in being anti-Barca, the team is very much appreciated, I dont know where this 'we're not appreciated' thing comes from. They've been a powerhouse of a team for a few years now with plaudits all around them. Sometimes I think a criticism of Barca is magnified a bit too much and used as some sort of Barca bashing.

Isn't the whole 'it doesn't matter who beats Barca or Spain as long as they do it' thing just normal in Sport though? When a person or team is dominant for a period of time, it's an exciting event to see them knocked off their perch, it doesn't always have to be seen in a malicious way, just a natural way.

dfx-

I agree it is natural, that's all it is to the majority.

Some however will go game-to-game, any opposition, mentioning the same events, the same conspiracies as if there is a valid point or valid reasoning in them, desperate to ultimately show there is some 'justice' when Barcelona do lose. I think that's different to naturally wanting the best team to lose - Barcelona may not even be the best team, it does not matter to them.

(Un)fortunately they only have scraps to live off, one or two games every couple of seasons, so they'll still be there.

Vinz Mesrine

lala88 wrote: »

Dont cry

Cry about what? I don't see how anyone over the age of 10 could find things like that funny, that's all.

monkey9

The conspiracy theories and paranoia about Barca is pretty funny I suppose.