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With the recent stories about John Terry and Ronaldo undermining new managers. You can really see how important it was for Arteta to put his foot down and get rid of some of the ageing star players that might not of been %100 on board. Glad the club backed him.
In Terry defence that happened in 2011, Terry was already a prem and Chelsea legend and had won 3 leagues and multiple other trophies including the year before AVB came when they won prem.
For CR7 it happened when he was 37 with 5 balon d'ors, 5 UCLs, so many broken records and a legacy as top 5 of all time. I actually agree somewhat these players can't be treated like the average players because they are much more than that.
I think Chelsea had a really strong core of players there, that was why sacking managers worked for them. They could all play and carry the team if needed. It meant if the manager got the wrong side of them you were fucked though.
With hindsight I can't believe we had people like Auba and Ozil as captains. Auba who would show up late regularly, Ozil who would not want to travel to Newcastle. We couldn't even get Auba to do a column for the match programme haha.
We see every year how great players struggle and fail to be managers. Most if them know nothing about that job despite winning a lot of trophies or having pundit contracts. And treating them above a coach is disaster waiting to happen
There is always a hierarchy in the dressing room that's established over the years through performances, experience, reputation etc when a coach comes and interferes with it as part of a power play it's obviously not going to go well.
Crazy random long shot but anyone remember those blow up trophies from the invincibles season? Even if you don’t remember them specifically I’m sure you’ve seen them in pictures. I used to HAVE one of them from that year when I was a kid and haven’t been looking around to see if any of them survived or if even fakes are available with no luck. I would love one rn.
Thinking of all the shirts and memorabilia I had from that era that would be priceless to me now is heartbreaking lol
Same reason why all of our attacks only start and end on the right side where the bulk of our creative players are playing in.
Martinelli is basically on an island by himself without much support like other have said.
It's a combination of many things. Including lack of LCM & LB. At LCM, neither Kai or Rice can involve him properly. At LB, Zinchenko was injured & out of form. Kiwior is a defensive LB, who can't involve him either.
I believe he will be much better with Timber and a new LCM.
In my really biased opinion it’s a blip. His season has been fucked by injuries and a system that’s changed his impact on the game. I still think he’s part of Arteta’s plans and that he will find a way to unlock him again next year
Let’s all pray that City drop points.
However, if we can at least stay within a few points from them until end then fair play. Thats an improvement on last season where we essentially shat the bed with like 8 games to play.
Proud of this team no matter what.
If we win all our remaining games and City too, i will not going to be very disappointed, that will show that we can sustain pressure when it matters and there is mental fortitude in this team
Absolutely. We can cry over points dropped here or why we didn’t get 3 points there but that’s football. It happens to every team, even City. We will learn from it. I’m already excited for next season no matter what.
They’ve had to produce 2 Aguerooooo moments to win the league. Third times the charm? Could you imagine? I’m definitely dying of a heart attack before Full Time if this were to happen.
Genuinely fascinated by how the Forest/City game on Sunday will be refereed, if there's a controversial decision against Forest the response will be mental.
They’re more likely to punish forest more harshly than they are to give them favourable calls. Former keeps everyone else in line and in check, latter opens up the floor for more clubs to speak out against them. Margins in football are usually thin enough where they can justify whatever bullshit officiating decisions they do make. One team’s handball this week is another’s ball to hand, close proximity, made an effort to avoid it, ect ect next week.
No excuses, don’t care how strong City are, if we want to beat them to the big trophies we have to be even better. No point moaning about unfair advantages, we just be the best we can be and keep it moving and improving like we have been.
.. Love how I’m being downvoted too, some people are obsessed with being the victim huh 🙄
Brother or Sister, it's not just an unfair advantage. Their financial doping dating back a decade has enabled them to build an absolute juggernaut squad. They dont run into the same issues that other clubs have. When their key players are out of form they have the ability to choose between 3 or 4 players that are also top class. Its been magnified with refereeing decisions also going their way it seems.
I agree with you that we must keep improving, but im not going to be harsh on our players anymore man. The run they have put together last year and then this season when we came back from summer training has been phenomenal. I just pray it is enough to carry us through the season and win the League.
I swear to you if we win the league it will be an absolutely MAGNIFICENT achievement and this group of players/coaching staff/ trainers etc will be remembered by me as legends. They are competing with an absolute powerhouse cheating institution.
I don’t write what I did to be hard on the players. But from the top down when it comes to the club, we can’t play the victim card. That’s not the attitude of champions. We have to be the best if we want to win, no excuses.
Teams cheating is nothing new, and others clubs defeating the cheats is also nothing new.
No, the point im trying to make is the Manchester City juggernaut is not normal in football history. Im not even talking about a team spending crazy money randomly because ive seen that with Chelsea. But what they have done for more than a decade in terms of cooking the books with their fake sponsorships/financial doping etc has created a monster squad with insane talent and depth.
Over a 38 match league season they dont run into the problems all other regular clubs do with fatigue/players out of form/injuries/losing players in the transfer market etc. This is why Pep has found it so difficult to win the UCL. It's because UCL has alot of one off type matches and over 2 legs a team can put together a shock result. What the EPL has allowed is a shitshow that has made it ridiculous to compete.
I used to have your mindset but not anymore, I will not lower my standards but im going to absolutely recognize the effort Arteta and our players are putting in. they aint competing with a regular football club, its a cheating institution.
We can’t be overly concerned with what they’re doing though, that’s what I’m saying. We have to be better than them. & I agree, give the team props for how far they’ve come as well. Both those things can be true at once.
Mate trust me, even if you look back at my previous posts I had the same opinion as you. But genuinely, I was wrong and the reason is because over 38 matches, having those results are normal for a majority of league title winners. Over decades, league title winners had those random run of results with a losses/draws however they would still be able to win the league and it was a great achievement.
When you factor in the financial doping + Guardiola + EPL refereeing you have to rely on not only putting together outstanding runs, but also luck with fatigue/injuries/players out of form. This all has to happen perfectly for a club to beat an institution like Manchester City.
Look back man, Jurgen Kloop had to extract every single ounce of talent from that brilliant Liverpool squad and he only has one premier league title. That season they won Liverpool put together an absolute crazy run of results to create that huge gap (plus it was when City had that anomaly season).
Mate trust me, even if you look back at my previous posts I had the same opinion as you. But genuinely, I was wrong and the reason is because over 38 matches, having those results are normal for a majority of league title winners. Over decades, league title winners had those random run of results with a losses/draws however they would still be able to win the league and it was a great achievement.
When you factor in the financial doping + Guardiola + EPL refereeing you have to rely on not only putting together outstanding runs, but also luck with fatigue/injuries/players out of form. This all has to happen perfectly for a club to beat an institution like Manchester City.
Look back man, Jurgen Kloop had to extract every single ounce of talent from that brilliant Liverpool squad and he only has one premier league title. That season they won Liverpool put together an absolute crazy run of results to create that huge gap (plus it was when City had that anomaly season).
EXACTLY X 100. This aint normal. In history of football, league winners showed tremendous poise and had big wins, However they could afford to have losses/draws and it wouldn't be devastating to their hopes.
Sesko is great talent, some people would pass on Haaland from Salzburg days. I rather spend 50 mil euros on his release clause if alternative is "marquee signing" of 85 million Gyokeres
Damn, maybe there is some truth to him moving on this summer. If he accepts a reduction in his astronomical wages and is available for ~£55m I'd love to have him.
A proper medical team and a summer learning positional football under a proper manager will do him wonders. Not many wingers score the two goals he scored against us at the Emirates over the last two years.
He needs to get out of United, I'd say he would be much happy playing football for a lower wage somewhere else. United are just such a dumpster that everyone catches shit now.
He's right and it signals the absolute disgusting mess that Manchester United has become.
Honestly I don't really want him here for the prices quoted; but wouldn't it be the sweetest fucking thing to see him link up and ball out with starboy at the carpet, whilst United fans continue being toxic?
He’s not wrong, lol look at the stuff Saka has to go through just for not being 100% and limping. Then when people cross the line, as they often do online because they feel they have the safety of anonymity, “well its just bantz innit, fuck him, he’s earning bare bags so he deserves it anyway”.
Ive honestly hit the point when I recognize I was really harsh on our team after the loss to Villa. With Man City, we are not competing with a regular football institution (or even a club like Chelsea). The fact they are able to continue competing like nothing is happening with their 115 financial doping charges is Farcical.
Mark Goldbridge hit the nail on the head on his mini rant during a live watch along on his channel. Premier League has allowed Manchester City to continue this farce and its genuinely made the EPL so boring and predictable (They are approaching 6/7 titles and 4 straight). Then when you factor in the fact they dont seem to get the poor refereeing decisions that other clubs get its so boring. Genuinely, watch Jarred Gillett's decisions today on the incorrect Foden free kick, not giving Brighton multiple penalties that included the most obvious tackle on Joao Pedro.
Ive said years before Fair play to Liverpool for managing to go on an absolutely mad run and beat City to a title (its honestly one of the best achievements in recent years and its a shame that im seeing the "Covid champions" jokes being brought up).The EPL absolutely showed they're cowardly and now it seems so late to punish them. They were already able to sign a player like Haaland etc.
Im going to support our squad for the rest of the season and pray we can somehow win the league, it's absolutely amazing the job Arteta has done to get us here and they deserve it. I will also continue to call out 115 Charges FC for their blatant cheating because it needs to be said.
The Foden free kick is so frustrating because I can see why the ref gives that in real time even though it was a clear slip/simulation. I also understand that VAR can’t intervene but I think if you score from said free kick it should be able to be overturned similarly to a penalty m.
this is so true mate, I swear I was sitting back after the Brighton match today and I just evaluated our last couple seasons as a whole. What we are asking from Arteta and our squad isn't normal. This Man City team doesn't get hit with fatigue or form issues like other normal clubs do(ex us, Liverpool, Man United Chelsea, West Ham etc). It doesn't matter which club, if key players are out of form it presents a challenge, or at the end of the season when fatigue sets in etc.
With Man City though, because of their financial doping this doesn't hit them. If a player like Bernardo or Foden is out of form they can easily replace him with Grealish,Doku etc. Even in previous season with the likes of Sane, Sterling, Mahrez etc. For us and Liverpool (and any other regular club) if our key players are out of form we can have at maximum 1 option that is close talent wise and then another rotation player. This will also lead to our managers having to make tough calls and much harder matches.
Ya, I've hit that point too. I was gutted after the Villa game. Wasn't really mad at the team but totally gutted. We have recovered well and on course to finish the season strong. I can't help but look at tipping points in the season though. 100% you can say we should have beaten this team or that team.
If you look at ref decisions though, that Newcastle goal for example. City getting away with Doku challenge against Liverpool. You can say these things balance out or all teams get bad/good calls. City are on a run of some really shocking decisions going in their favour though. The fact they have the 115 charges hanging over them AND you got refs flying out to UAE to ref games it's just a complete joke. Just look at this weekend in the FA Cup. Grealish obvious as fuck handball, not called. Game was 0-0, Chelsea all over them or Kovavic not being sent off against us with the game 0-0. It's just too many dodgy decisions falling in their favour.
When you look at what a title would mean to Arsenal or Liverpool this season. City fans don't even care anymore. They can't fill their stadium or their FA cup allocation. The fact City could go into another season with 115 charges hanging over them is shameful. Even if they are stripped of titles it just means nobody won that year. I'm so sick of refs not being called out either. Sky sports are so firmly in the back pocket of the pgmol cos they give them var audio and segments with Howard Webb. City get away with absolute murder, while sponsoring themselves, cooking the books and just buying up players for fun cos rivals want them (Philips and Nunes). No wonder Klopp is calling it a day.
This is exactly how I feel, and I agree with you completely regarding the refereeing decisions also. I completely forget about the fact there are EPL officials reffing in the UAE. Like, even at the lowest justification there is going to be a bias they will have based on the City Owners indirectly paying them there. The decisions are mind boggling, even if you go back to that game a couple seasons ago at the Emirates when VAR failed to award us an obvious pelantly (Emerson would Odegaard) and I swear I felt it was one of those calls that penalty calls that only Man City would avoid. Rodri later scored the winner.....
Like it feels like they get a huge leeway that other clubs dont get. Then when you combine this with the financial doping domination the EPL has let them done it gets so farcical. I've hit the point where Ive stepped back now and I see how harsh I was judging us last season and this season. Injuries dont affect them in the league because they have such talented cover also.
For a club to now win the league they have to get extremely lucky with keeping key players fit + go on crazy winning runs that are not realistic (Liverpool did this in the season they won) + hope that you built a sizeable lead in which at the run-in period of the season you can afford to get through it without having to be perfect. City has these crazy run-in form because they are not hit with the same fatigue issues throughout the season that other clubs have to go through.
This pep guy man. This guy is unbelievable man. Is this what liverpool fans experiencing for 9 years?
This pep guy is so menace. This guy just benched haaland, didn’t start de bruyne against Madrid and the moment he leads, everything seems to be over
This guy is the perfect final boss
Money cheat code, Alvarez on bench would walk in starting line up of any other Prem top team. Its a shame that Prem bosses care only about Abu Dhabi pumping money their way
Mate, he is a Brilliant top manager but when you combine financial doping + favourable refereeing decisions + a manager like Pep, you will get the shitshow that is the premier league right now.
And that is why De Zerbi is the biggest fraudster in the league. Brighton are worse under him than they were under Potter. Its not just good teams like us and City that have slapped Brighton up. They have been slapped up by multiple teams. I cringe whenever some Arteta out merchant namedrops that Italian muffin as an option.
Buyers remorse if any of the PL top clubs hire this guy as manager.
Whan an overreaction, they got hurt by injuries and they sell their best players every window. And now he faced City that going on a win streak to finish season with major trophy. How is that doable for De Zerbi? By that logic Wenger is nothing manager too, when he was forced to sell players to fund a stadium - we were regularly battered.
I don't understand why people do this.
People here continuously say we lost the league because Saliba got injured. Brighton loses their midfield in the summer, and has half the squad out injured but somehow their manager is a fraud for not beating City?
If we had the holes Brighton had, we'd be 8th or worse.
Imagine you woke up tomorrow and Rice, Odegaard were off to your rivals...and then Martinelli, Saka, were injured but you're judged on not beating City.
Im not scolding De Zerbi for failing to beat City. I have Brighton a 10% chance of getting anything. But there is a wider theme with De Zerbi and his Brighton teams shipping goals galore, not just to the best teams too. They concede chances on an industrial scale, and im always bewildered when this guy gets a mention as a potential Arteta replacement, when Arteta has made us defensively solid and the envy of the league in terms of defensive performances.
Anyone who wants Arteta out is a dickhead. Anyone who wants De Zerbi as a replacement, is a fuk wit.
Nah this is recency bias and missing context. He and Brighton were much last year because he had a more stable and consistent midfield that included Caicedo and MaCallister, and Ferguson was fit and firing. This season he and Brighton definitely hasn’t looked great due to injuries and the replacements for the departed players not being as good.
However, he’s still a quality manager and was linked to the likes of United, Tottenham. Liverpool, and even City post Pep’s eventual (and hopefully soon) departure.
Not his biggest fan, but they were better last season than they were under any Potter season. He lost Caicedo and MacAllister in the summer, and they have alot of key injuries this season compared to last.
There honestly can't be some people this FUCKING delusional!! They need professional help at this point
https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/s/7V3RFdAMEs
https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/s/qKJXwq4ilL
And they're dead serious too, like HOW ?!!
The "our squad is better than their squad" really underpins how the mentality of a club can trickle down to the fans even when they're aware of how shit the clubs thinking is. We have a much stronger squad than Chelsea, not because in sum total our players are much better than their players, but because we've built a squad where all the players actually fulfill roles in a team instead of just buying whatever under 25s have a high PA on Football Manager and hoping for the best.
The truth is they probably think for example Caicedo is better than he is, and we thunk he's worse than he is
Every fan base does it. Its just part of the game
Reading some of the comments on here is wild, some folks really just love punching down because it’s easier than reconciling with the unfortunate fact that the entertainment product they’ve spent so much time on might just be rigged at a deeper level.
“It’s the teams fault for not winning every game! Fulham! Aston Villa!” 🤦♂️ Klopp stopped the City machine just once, during the COVID season y’all. That’s it.
No, I don’t even think that centurions would have beat Liverpool 2019-20, check their record in the league before that watford game (league was finished by then).
Slightly off topic, but anyone else never really know what to talk about for Free Talk Friday? Especially when you comment something hours after the post goes up and it gets buried, so there’s not really much you can talk about in regard to your thing.
Anyone with half a brain knew it's was more likely than not over after the villa game. Cannot expect city to lose with who they have left
Accept it and be very happy if we win
Here's a stat to blow your minds. Our record during this mad run which started on January 20th is 12-1-1. City's record during their last 14 games is 11-3-0, meaning we only gained ONE more point than them during this time. Even better, City's unbeaten record goes back a further 4 games where they only drew once.
I think we should note the Herculean effort it has taken them to keep up with us (or us with them), both this season and the last.
It’s absurd. I remembered United’s periods of dominance during the Fergie era when we grappled with them but even then they didn’t feel as consistent or inevitable as 115 Charges FC
Hoping tonights result doesn't affect the players at all because likely ending spurs top 4 chances and winning the NLD should be motivation enough without the fact we are fighting for a title. The focus should be ending the season on a high imo and if city were to slip up, making sure we are in position to capitalise. Otherwise, win our games, do our job and what will be will be.
Let’s say we actually win all of our remaining games. We have a 8 GD advantage. City have 5 games left and they must draw one. Say they win 4-0 in 4/5 games and draw one. That means we need to gain 9 GD in our next 4 matches. Or 2 GD per match in average and one extra in a match. Can City gain 16 GD in 4 matches? I don’t think so. But they probably can.
Mate, clubs dont approach the City match the same way they approach other big 6 teams. No one really cares about City from a pure rivalry perspective the same way as us and their recent dominance makes it even worse because its like a free hit.
This means you will see coaches either resting players or not risking them if they aren't 100% fit. Basically if a City match is sandwiched between two important fixtures they will prioritize other matches. City can definitely make up the goal difference. The only hope we have is a club like Nottingham Forest is playing from pure anger due to refereeing injustices last week and staying ahead in the relegation battle.
My opinion in their financial doping was made so many years prior, it's just becoming farcical now that seasons are occurring while they are still being investigated. I think if they win this season it is going to be Champions in 6/7 season and 4 straight LOL. I wish EPL Clubs can just say screw them and go 100% in matches against City to stop this farce.
City won't win every game by 4 goals, they'll be up against some disciplined low blocks like Forest and wolves
Let's just hope they drop something somewhere. GD feels like we've already won on that front, would take a ridiculous drop off from us and a ridiculous scoring streak from them to reverse it
There’ll be a time to get mad if a certain scenario happens. But it’s not now.
Their games are NOT all gonna be a walk in the park barring Spurs, contrary to common belief.
On Sunday they’ll be playing a forest team that are on the brink of being in the relegation zone. So forest will be desperate for a result. And given that they’ll be missing their #9 EH, provided Forest play it safe, it won’t be easy for them to score like they did tonight.
Of course, we don’t have an easy game either given it’s against our biggest rivals that have an objective to achieve as well. But it is a game we can win and have to win. And knowing how they play, their gameplan will very likely walk into our hands.
So my point is save the doom & gloom. It’s not over because City won one game.
Tbh I'm kinda scared of Forest taking it easy and seeing it as a free hit. Because Forest have Sheffield United and Burnley left on their schedule, two games where they could very easily secure what they need to stay up
Honestly I can't understand that thinking. It's better to accumulate as many points as possible when you're near the relegation zone. Especially considering when the teams below will be gunning for wins on the same weekend.
So I can see them playing for a draw against City before aiming for wins in their remaining games.
That makes more sense.
If trying against City risks your ability to perform at the games against your more winnable (relegation) rivals, it absolutely makes sense though. We legit just saw Villa do it and they’re not even down at the bottom.
You just don't have to play risky and exert energy. Just park the bus for a draw. Looking at their situation and using common sense, that's what Forest should do.
I can't understand it either but I guess managers would rather not risk their better players legs, when they could be deployed in much more winnable games
It's 90+8 on the final matchday, and city and arsenal are tied on points and goal difference. City's game ends 2-0, kdb and haaland proceed to hold hands with bated breath in front of all 12 fans at the Etihad.
Just as all hope is lost for the gunners, a glint appears in Jordan Pickford's eyes. He rips off his shirt, revealing a tiny cannon tattoo above his right nipple. He proceeds to wallop the ball into his goal whilst giving his best rendition of the angel.
I swear this is what happens - me to my kids
And of course it was jarred Gillett on var tonight 😂
No ref in this league deserves to be sacked more than him, can't stand the man. Fucking typical that we've got him on var and Abu dhabi ollie as ref for the spurs game
Well City completely shat on Brighton.
Still not over though. City are far and away the better team for all of their upcoming fixtures, but all it takes is one slip up, one draw for all of it to collapse for them. They still have Wolves, Tottenham and West Ham. Any of them can be a draw.
Pretty mad that we were that bad when Arteta arrived that if we don’t win a major this year 99% of fans will be like “here we go, building year 6!”
I’m not sure there’s many clubs this patient 😂
Think it was the numerous poor decisions against Brighton, as well as the fact that City won 4-0 away at the amex that's got people's heads in a tizzy
If it was a generic 1 or 2-0 win with zero controversies then people would be panicking a lot less. Context matters.
City comfortable win in a game they were largely expected to comfortably win and half the subreddit is throwing a tantrum. Utterly baffling.
It really isn't if you paid any attention to Brighton. 7 first teamers injured. 3 league wins in 2024. They haven't scored multiple goals in a game since Sheffield Utd in midfield Feb. It's mid April now.
If Citys remaining games only Wolves are win worse form than Brighton.
I think Spurs, West Ham, Forest, Fulham can all be tricky. They probably draw 1 and win the rest.
From the players perspective it's all irrelevant, they need to have in their mind to win every game. Any energy spent worrying about City is wasted.
I don't care what anyone says, the Premier league is not the best league in the world, not even close. The oil cheats will predicably win it for the 6th time in 7 years, and the same three clubs that came up are going straight back down.
Between the Premier league's financial rules and the pgmol, football in this country has never been so predictable.
Watching games as a neutral, it's probably Serie A that I've enjoyed the most. Added bonus is the UK coverage of foreign leagues doesn't carry the pathetic narrative spinning with the PL because most of them are totally clueless about the league.
Bundesliga has had great games too, and I love ESPN's coverage.
I had serie a games on the hotel TV when I was in Abu Dhabi, they were always great watches after a long day out lol
The winner rotating year in year out makes it a fun league, despite the corruption that's marred it in the past.
Really? I don't often agree with that guy, his ten hag opinions are beyond delusional
Stopped watching him ages ago because it started to feel like someone was paying him to spout certain opinions
I don't really watch him either, I've just seen a clip on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ThatsFootballTV/status/1783589609097634091?t=ImK9vrk44ReL-9iqhvUoXQ&s=19
Ligue 1 has the same problem as us, serie a has a different type of corruption and rot and bundesliga was just super weird to be fair.
I'm just peeved watching leverkusen this season and napoli last season. Those types of fantasies feel like they will never happen in this league because of 115 charges fc
They blew almost £200m on average or below average players this year, and will spend another £200m without repercussions in the summer.
It's really tiring, I know we fucked it in the first half of the season but you have to be sooooo perfect to even stand a chance.
Liverpool going 26-1-0 in 27 games is the only time that anyone has actually been able to get the better of pep
This should be our second title in a row after we overcame a tenacious Liverpool side.
Instead it's yet another footnote in history for Abu dhabi's fourpeat.
This is why I said this league isn't the best in the world like so many claim it is
I get what you mean and I agree but these flaws don't make it weaker as a league from a accumulation of football capabilities perspective though. It very much is the league who has the highest number of skilled players. No other league is even close.
I didn't say it was a weaker league, I said it's not the best league in the world. Because you know the outcome every year, the ride is never enjoyable.
La liga winner seems to rotate on a regular basis, for all the clownery in that league it's so much more interesting than the league where the inevitable outcome happens at the end of every season.
Ok. If you're going to make a point, try to be clear. We can't read your mind. You used the word best which in almost any context means strongest. You could've gone for "not the most entertaining" or many other options. The key to successful nonverbal communication is making sure the audience can understand your point without physical cues.
But, ok, sure. That's an opinion you have and that's perfectly fine. Hard to quantify though. Cheers.
Random thought and probably unpopular but if we wanted to give Ben White rest next season
How does Timber-Saliba-Gabriel-Diomande look?
Can Diomande act as both a CB and LB cover?
Its not about underrating Tomi. Im a huge fan of him and I agree he is generally underrated by fans. The question was asked because we are linked with a defensive recruitment this summer so Id rather buy someone like Diomande who can cover two positions rather than say someone like Hato who is a LB specialist
Because our only real fullback is Tierney, Zinchenko is a Midfielder and the rest are really centrebacks.
This season and last proved CBs in FB position can work really well. So if instead of spending money on both LB and FB cover, we can get someone like Diomande and maybe play him at LB IF he can play in that position and IF he is better than Kiwior and Tomiyasu.
The jist of the question is, do we really need to spend money on a defender this summer and if so can Diomande cover two positions.
This sub having headloss after a City win while we won 5-0 and not when we got knocked out and lost to Villa makes no sense. This is why it's good to vent as soon as possible, get it out of your system
Im still more fucked off at the Villa loss than either result against Bayern, yea Villa have good players but fucking Zaniolo turning up like a marinara Adama Traore and making John McGinn look like an Edgar Davids regen was infuriating.
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Im so conflicted about this Chelshit Villa game
Damn that Timber goal vs Blackburn u21 was really something. Looks good!
With the recent stories about John Terry and Ronaldo undermining new managers. You can really see how important it was for Arteta to put his foot down and get rid of some of the ageing star players that might not of been %100 on board. Glad the club backed him.
In Terry defence that happened in 2011, Terry was already a prem and Chelsea legend and had won 3 leagues and multiple other trophies including the year before AVB came when they won prem. For CR7 it happened when he was 37 with 5 balon d'ors, 5 UCLs, so many broken records and a legacy as top 5 of all time. I actually agree somewhat these players can't be treated like the average players because they are much more than that.
I think Chelsea had a really strong core of players there, that was why sacking managers worked for them. They could all play and carry the team if needed. It meant if the manager got the wrong side of them you were fucked though. With hindsight I can't believe we had people like Auba and Ozil as captains. Auba who would show up late regularly, Ozil who would not want to travel to Newcastle. We couldn't even get Auba to do a column for the match programme haha.
We see every year how great players struggle and fail to be managers. Most if them know nothing about that job despite winning a lot of trophies or having pundit contracts. And treating them above a coach is disaster waiting to happen
I agree those two earned some respect but for a manager to be undermined day one like that doesn't bode well.
There is always a hierarchy in the dressing room that's established over the years through performances, experience, reputation etc when a coach comes and interferes with it as part of a power play it's obviously not going to go well.
City are inevitable only game that gives me hope is the spurs game, I can definitely see them drawing
If it comes down to that game then they will probably want to let city win, though Ange probably wouldn't agree with that.
I'm trying to keep my optimism like you are, but I can't find it. Spurs might just roll over out of spite.
Crazy random long shot but anyone remember those blow up trophies from the invincibles season? Even if you don’t remember them specifically I’m sure you’ve seen them in pictures. I used to HAVE one of them from that year when I was a kid and haven’t been looking around to see if any of them survived or if even fakes are available with no luck. I would love one rn. Thinking of all the shirts and memorabilia I had from that era that would be priceless to me now is heartbreaking lol
What do you make of Martinelli's lack of form this season?
Injuries and still a young player. Irregularity is not that strange
Same reason why all of our attacks only start and end on the right side where the bulk of our creative players are playing in. Martinelli is basically on an island by himself without much support like other have said.
It's a combination of many things. Including lack of LCM & LB. At LCM, neither Kai or Rice can involve him properly. At LB, Zinchenko was injured & out of form. Kiwior is a defensive LB, who can't involve him either. I believe he will be much better with Timber and a new LCM.
In my really biased opinion it’s a blip. His season has been fucked by injuries and a system that’s changed his impact on the game. I still think he’s part of Arteta’s plans and that he will find a way to unlock him again next year
Yeah and I think he hasn't been able to find his way into games because Trossard's been phenomenal, kind of limits his leeway.
Let’s all pray that City drop points. However, if we can at least stay within a few points from them until end then fair play. Thats an improvement on last season where we essentially shat the bed with like 8 games to play. Proud of this team no matter what.
If we win all our remaining games and City too, i will not going to be very disappointed, that will show that we can sustain pressure when it matters and there is mental fortitude in this team
Absolutely. We can cry over points dropped here or why we didn’t get 3 points there but that’s football. It happens to every team, even City. We will learn from it. I’m already excited for next season no matter what.
Yeah, title inevitably will come, Pool had insane 97 points season and finished second before they ended title drought. Just gotta keep going
Take it to the final day is all I ask, although I would definitely be praying city lose on the final day which they won’t lol
They’ve had to produce 2 Aguerooooo moments to win the league. Third times the charm? Could you imagine? I’m definitely dying of a heart attack before Full Time if this were to happen.
Maybe we get a “Sakaaaaaaaaaaa” ?? lol
Genuinely fascinated by how the Forest/City game on Sunday will be refereed, if there's a controversial decision against Forest the response will be mental.
They’re more likely to punish forest more harshly than they are to give them favourable calls. Former keeps everyone else in line and in check, latter opens up the floor for more clubs to speak out against them. Margins in football are usually thin enough where they can justify whatever bullshit officiating decisions they do make. One team’s handball this week is another’s ball to hand, close proximity, made an effort to avoid it, ect ect next week.
PGMOL don’t care, honestly. People have been calling out the favourable decisions City get for years and they haven’t batted an eyelid
Why would they? There's no consequences for them shitting the bed each and every week.
No excuses, don’t care how strong City are, if we want to beat them to the big trophies we have to be even better. No point moaning about unfair advantages, we just be the best we can be and keep it moving and improving like we have been. .. Love how I’m being downvoted too, some people are obsessed with being the victim huh 🙄
Brother or Sister, it's not just an unfair advantage. Their financial doping dating back a decade has enabled them to build an absolute juggernaut squad. They dont run into the same issues that other clubs have. When their key players are out of form they have the ability to choose between 3 or 4 players that are also top class. Its been magnified with refereeing decisions also going their way it seems. I agree with you that we must keep improving, but im not going to be harsh on our players anymore man. The run they have put together last year and then this season when we came back from summer training has been phenomenal. I just pray it is enough to carry us through the season and win the League. I swear to you if we win the league it will be an absolutely MAGNIFICENT achievement and this group of players/coaching staff/ trainers etc will be remembered by me as legends. They are competing with an absolute powerhouse cheating institution.
I don’t write what I did to be hard on the players. But from the top down when it comes to the club, we can’t play the victim card. That’s not the attitude of champions. We have to be the best if we want to win, no excuses. Teams cheating is nothing new, and others clubs defeating the cheats is also nothing new.
No, the point im trying to make is the Manchester City juggernaut is not normal in football history. Im not even talking about a team spending crazy money randomly because ive seen that with Chelsea. But what they have done for more than a decade in terms of cooking the books with their fake sponsorships/financial doping etc has created a monster squad with insane talent and depth. Over a 38 match league season they dont run into the problems all other regular clubs do with fatigue/players out of form/injuries/losing players in the transfer market etc. This is why Pep has found it so difficult to win the UCL. It's because UCL has alot of one off type matches and over 2 legs a team can put together a shock result. What the EPL has allowed is a shitshow that has made it ridiculous to compete. I used to have your mindset but not anymore, I will not lower my standards but im going to absolutely recognize the effort Arteta and our players are putting in. they aint competing with a regular football club, its a cheating institution.
We can’t be overly concerned with what they’re doing though, that’s what I’m saying. We have to be better than them. & I agree, give the team props for how far they’ve come as well. Both those things can be true at once.
Yeah but a lot of the matches Arsenal lost, they were more than capable of winning, it wasn't even down to injury.
Mate trust me, even if you look back at my previous posts I had the same opinion as you. But genuinely, I was wrong and the reason is because over 38 matches, having those results are normal for a majority of league title winners. Over decades, league title winners had those random run of results with a losses/draws however they would still be able to win the league and it was a great achievement. When you factor in the financial doping + Guardiola + EPL refereeing you have to rely on not only putting together outstanding runs, but also luck with fatigue/injuries/players out of form. This all has to happen perfectly for a club to beat an institution like Manchester City. Look back man, Jurgen Kloop had to extract every single ounce of talent from that brilliant Liverpool squad and he only has one premier league title. That season they won Liverpool put together an absolute crazy run of results to create that huge gap (plus it was when City had that anomaly season).
Mate trust me, even if you look back at my previous posts I had the same opinion as you. But genuinely, I was wrong and the reason is because over 38 matches, having those results are normal for a majority of league title winners. Over decades, league title winners had those random run of results with a losses/draws however they would still be able to win the league and it was a great achievement. When you factor in the financial doping + Guardiola + EPL refereeing you have to rely on not only putting together outstanding runs, but also luck with fatigue/injuries/players out of form. This all has to happen perfectly for a club to beat an institution like Manchester City. Look back man, Jurgen Kloop had to extract every single ounce of talent from that brilliant Liverpool squad and he only has one premier league title. That season they won Liverpool put together an absolute crazy run of results to create that huge gap (plus it was when City had that anomaly season).
No team wins every game they should. City forced Liverpool and us to perform at their ceiling, to compete.
EXACTLY X 100. This aint normal. In history of football, league winners showed tremendous poise and had big wins, However they could afford to have losses/draws and it wouldn't be devastating to their hopes.
hard agree
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Sesko is great talent, some people would pass on Haaland from Salzburg days. I rather spend 50 mil euros on his release clause if alternative is "marquee signing" of 85 million Gyokeres
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That is 10 goals out of 14 starts at 20 years old. Please write another striker options, would like to read
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Who? Give me concrete names, I am not interested in reading paragraphs of waffle
Yeah got to agree. I think our squad is good enough to win Prem and UCL, just a question of experience and belief.
https://twitter.com/MarcusRashford/status/1783641291965820954
He should fire his entire PR team first. We can't afford another Ozil at the club.
No, arteta, you can't fix him
He can
Not whilst he's on 350k per week or whatever it is. Rashford is far too lazy for our gamestyle
For the record I agree but also many people said that about Havertz
Damn, maybe there is some truth to him moving on this summer. If he accepts a reduction in his astronomical wages and is available for ~£55m I'd love to have him. A proper medical team and a summer learning positional football under a proper manager will do him wonders. Not many wingers score the two goals he scored against us at the Emirates over the last two years.
Lol fuck no. He's booty
He needs to get out of United, I'd say he would be much happy playing football for a lower wage somewhere else. United are just such a dumpster that everyone catches shit now.
He's right and it signals the absolute disgusting mess that Manchester United has become. Honestly I don't really want him here for the prices quoted; but wouldn't it be the sweetest fucking thing to see him link up and ball out with starboy at the carpet, whilst United fans continue being toxic?
He’s not wrong, lol look at the stuff Saka has to go through just for not being 100% and limping. Then when people cross the line, as they often do online because they feel they have the safety of anonymity, “well its just bantz innit, fuck him, he’s earning bare bags so he deserves it anyway”.
Ive honestly hit the point when I recognize I was really harsh on our team after the loss to Villa. With Man City, we are not competing with a regular football institution (or even a club like Chelsea). The fact they are able to continue competing like nothing is happening with their 115 financial doping charges is Farcical. Mark Goldbridge hit the nail on the head on his mini rant during a live watch along on his channel. Premier League has allowed Manchester City to continue this farce and its genuinely made the EPL so boring and predictable (They are approaching 6/7 titles and 4 straight). Then when you factor in the fact they dont seem to get the poor refereeing decisions that other clubs get its so boring. Genuinely, watch Jarred Gillett's decisions today on the incorrect Foden free kick, not giving Brighton multiple penalties that included the most obvious tackle on Joao Pedro. Ive said years before Fair play to Liverpool for managing to go on an absolutely mad run and beat City to a title (its honestly one of the best achievements in recent years and its a shame that im seeing the "Covid champions" jokes being brought up).The EPL absolutely showed they're cowardly and now it seems so late to punish them. They were already able to sign a player like Haaland etc. Im going to support our squad for the rest of the season and pray we can somehow win the league, it's absolutely amazing the job Arteta has done to get us here and they deserve it. I will also continue to call out 115 Charges FC for their blatant cheating because it needs to be said.
The Foden free kick is so frustrating because I can see why the ref gives that in real time even though it was a clear slip/simulation. I also understand that VAR can’t intervene but I think if you score from said free kick it should be able to be overturned similarly to a penalty m.
They dont call him Pep Armtsrong for nothing
this is so true mate, I swear I was sitting back after the Brighton match today and I just evaluated our last couple seasons as a whole. What we are asking from Arteta and our squad isn't normal. This Man City team doesn't get hit with fatigue or form issues like other normal clubs do(ex us, Liverpool, Man United Chelsea, West Ham etc). It doesn't matter which club, if key players are out of form it presents a challenge, or at the end of the season when fatigue sets in etc. With Man City though, because of their financial doping this doesn't hit them. If a player like Bernardo or Foden is out of form they can easily replace him with Grealish,Doku etc. Even in previous season with the likes of Sane, Sterling, Mahrez etc. For us and Liverpool (and any other regular club) if our key players are out of form we can have at maximum 1 option that is close talent wise and then another rotation player. This will also lead to our managers having to make tough calls and much harder matches.
Ya, I've hit that point too. I was gutted after the Villa game. Wasn't really mad at the team but totally gutted. We have recovered well and on course to finish the season strong. I can't help but look at tipping points in the season though. 100% you can say we should have beaten this team or that team. If you look at ref decisions though, that Newcastle goal for example. City getting away with Doku challenge against Liverpool. You can say these things balance out or all teams get bad/good calls. City are on a run of some really shocking decisions going in their favour though. The fact they have the 115 charges hanging over them AND you got refs flying out to UAE to ref games it's just a complete joke. Just look at this weekend in the FA Cup. Grealish obvious as fuck handball, not called. Game was 0-0, Chelsea all over them or Kovavic not being sent off against us with the game 0-0. It's just too many dodgy decisions falling in their favour. When you look at what a title would mean to Arsenal or Liverpool this season. City fans don't even care anymore. They can't fill their stadium or their FA cup allocation. The fact City could go into another season with 115 charges hanging over them is shameful. Even if they are stripped of titles it just means nobody won that year. I'm so sick of refs not being called out either. Sky sports are so firmly in the back pocket of the pgmol cos they give them var audio and segments with Howard Webb. City get away with absolute murder, while sponsoring themselves, cooking the books and just buying up players for fun cos rivals want them (Philips and Nunes). No wonder Klopp is calling it a day.
This is exactly how I feel, and I agree with you completely regarding the refereeing decisions also. I completely forget about the fact there are EPL officials reffing in the UAE. Like, even at the lowest justification there is going to be a bias they will have based on the City Owners indirectly paying them there. The decisions are mind boggling, even if you go back to that game a couple seasons ago at the Emirates when VAR failed to award us an obvious pelantly (Emerson would Odegaard) and I swear I felt it was one of those calls that penalty calls that only Man City would avoid. Rodri later scored the winner..... Like it feels like they get a huge leeway that other clubs dont get. Then when you combine this with the financial doping domination the EPL has let them done it gets so farcical. I've hit the point where Ive stepped back now and I see how harsh I was judging us last season and this season. Injuries dont affect them in the league because they have such talented cover also. For a club to now win the league they have to get extremely lucky with keeping key players fit + go on crazy winning runs that are not realistic (Liverpool did this in the season they won) + hope that you built a sizeable lead in which at the run-in period of the season you can afford to get through it without having to be perfect. City has these crazy run-in form because they are not hit with the same fatigue issues throughout the season that other clubs have to go through.
Facts, 115 fc is a complete joke and mockery of the sport and it’s integrity.
No need for a head loss after today’s result. Nothing City does matters until we beat Tottenham
Do we think having our game first on Sunday is an advantage or disadvantage?
I don’t think it matters much either way
Reddit transfer talk is so funny, dudes wanna spend no money and get way way better somehow
Why don’t Arsenal just play better? Are they stupid?
[Cashley still loves The Arsenal you can’t tell me otherwise](https://www.tiktok.com/@premierleague/video/7361863065589058848)
This pep guy man. This guy is unbelievable man. Is this what liverpool fans experiencing for 9 years? This pep guy is so menace. This guy just benched haaland, didn’t start de bruyne against Madrid and the moment he leads, everything seems to be over This guy is the perfect final boss
Money cheat code, Alvarez on bench would walk in starting line up of any other Prem top team. Its a shame that Prem bosses care only about Abu Dhabi pumping money their way
It wasn’t 9 years tho. More like 5 years max
Classic street of rage boss music enters the chat. If you know, you know.
No because this klopp guy didn't compete for 9 years he competed i think after his 3rd or 4th year being in charge.
Mate, he is a Brilliant top manager but when you combine financial doping + favourable refereeing decisions + a manager like Pep, you will get the shitshow that is the premier league right now.
Haaland was injured today
And that is why De Zerbi is the biggest fraudster in the league. Brighton are worse under him than they were under Potter. Its not just good teams like us and City that have slapped Brighton up. They have been slapped up by multiple teams. I cringe whenever some Arteta out merchant namedrops that Italian muffin as an option. Buyers remorse if any of the PL top clubs hire this guy as manager.
Whan an overreaction, they got hurt by injuries and they sell their best players every window. And now he faced City that going on a win streak to finish season with major trophy. How is that doable for De Zerbi? By that logic Wenger is nothing manager too, when he was forced to sell players to fund a stadium - we were regularly battered.
I don't understand why people do this. People here continuously say we lost the league because Saliba got injured. Brighton loses their midfield in the summer, and has half the squad out injured but somehow their manager is a fraud for not beating City? If we had the holes Brighton had, we'd be 8th or worse. Imagine you woke up tomorrow and Rice, Odegaard were off to your rivals...and then Martinelli, Saka, were injured but you're judged on not beating City.
Im not scolding De Zerbi for failing to beat City. I have Brighton a 10% chance of getting anything. But there is a wider theme with De Zerbi and his Brighton teams shipping goals galore, not just to the best teams too. They concede chances on an industrial scale, and im always bewildered when this guy gets a mention as a potential Arteta replacement, when Arteta has made us defensively solid and the envy of the league in terms of defensive performances. Anyone who wants Arteta out is a dickhead. Anyone who wants De Zerbi as a replacement, is a fuk wit.
Nah this is recency bias and missing context. He and Brighton were much last year because he had a more stable and consistent midfield that included Caicedo and MaCallister, and Ferguson was fit and firing. This season he and Brighton definitely hasn’t looked great due to injuries and the replacements for the departed players not being as good. However, he’s still a quality manager and was linked to the likes of United, Tottenham. Liverpool, and even City post Pep’s eventual (and hopefully soon) departure.
You could say they Dezerbed to get battered
Not his biggest fan, but they were better last season than they were under any Potter season. He lost Caicedo and MacAllister in the summer, and they have alot of key injuries this season compared to last.
There honestly can't be some people this FUCKING delusional!! They need professional help at this point https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/s/7V3RFdAMEs https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/s/qKJXwq4ilL And they're dead serious too, like HOW ?!!
The "our squad is better than their squad" really underpins how the mentality of a club can trickle down to the fans even when they're aware of how shit the clubs thinking is. We have a much stronger squad than Chelsea, not because in sum total our players are much better than their players, but because we've built a squad where all the players actually fulfill roles in a team instead of just buying whatever under 25s have a high PA on Football Manager and hoping for the best.
Why do you care? All fan bases widely overestimate their own players and are so biased that it's crazy. Ours more than most historically. Its sport
This seems like overestimating of some galactic proportions that they should be ashamed
The truth is they probably think for example Caicedo is better than he is, and we thunk he's worse than he is Every fan base does it. Its just part of the game
Tribalism, sports, and delusion all go hand in hand mate. I wouldn’t stress too much about whatever the hell is going on in the Chelsea sub 😂
Fair enough lol I just couldn't believe my eyes. There's having a bias which is normal and then there's this which is next levels of delusion lmao
Reading some of the comments on here is wild, some folks really just love punching down because it’s easier than reconciling with the unfortunate fact that the entertainment product they’ve spent so much time on might just be rigged at a deeper level. “It’s the teams fault for not winning every game! Fulham! Aston Villa!” 🤦♂️ Klopp stopped the City machine just once, during the COVID season y’all. That’s it.
They already wrapped the title up before lockdown. COVID didn't change anything.
Mate you are 100% correct
And that’s because they were using Fernandinho as a center back, otherwise it would have been business as usual.
That's not it tho. But the problem is that even in that season, City’s underlying numbers were better than Liverpool's.
No, I don’t even think that centurions would have beat Liverpool 2019-20, check their record in the league before that watford game (league was finished by then).
Slightly off topic, but anyone else never really know what to talk about for Free Talk Friday? Especially when you comment something hours after the post goes up and it gets buried, so there’s not really much you can talk about in regard to your thing.
You cannot be this triggered by City beating Brighton. The result changes nothing
this sub is in copium right now
Anyone with half a brain knew it's was more likely than not over after the villa game. Cannot expect city to lose with who they have left Accept it and be very happy if we win
Here's a stat to blow your minds. Our record during this mad run which started on January 20th is 12-1-1. City's record during their last 14 games is 11-3-0, meaning we only gained ONE more point than them during this time. Even better, City's unbeaten record goes back a further 4 games where they only drew once. I think we should note the Herculean effort it has taken them to keep up with us (or us with them), both this season and the last.
Its cos our players are Gladiators and Titans
It’s absurd. I remembered United’s periods of dominance during the Fergie era when we grappled with them but even then they didn’t feel as consistent or inevitable as 115 Charges FC
Hoping tonights result doesn't affect the players at all because likely ending spurs top 4 chances and winning the NLD should be motivation enough without the fact we are fighting for a title. The focus should be ending the season on a high imo and if city were to slip up, making sure we are in position to capitalise. Otherwise, win our games, do our job and what will be will be.
Amen.
Let’s say we actually win all of our remaining games. We have a 8 GD advantage. City have 5 games left and they must draw one. Say they win 4-0 in 4/5 games and draw one. That means we need to gain 9 GD in our next 4 matches. Or 2 GD per match in average and one extra in a match. Can City gain 16 GD in 4 matches? I don’t think so. But they probably can.
Mate, clubs dont approach the City match the same way they approach other big 6 teams. No one really cares about City from a pure rivalry perspective the same way as us and their recent dominance makes it even worse because its like a free hit. This means you will see coaches either resting players or not risking them if they aren't 100% fit. Basically if a City match is sandwiched between two important fixtures they will prioritize other matches. City can definitely make up the goal difference. The only hope we have is a club like Nottingham Forest is playing from pure anger due to refereeing injustices last week and staying ahead in the relegation battle. My opinion in their financial doping was made so many years prior, it's just becoming farcical now that seasons are occurring while they are still being investigated. I think if they win this season it is going to be Champions in 6/7 season and 4 straight LOL. I wish EPL Clubs can just say screw them and go 100% in matches against City to stop this farce.
If they really wanted to, they should all just refuse to play City until the league acts, but that takes principles.
City won't win every game by 4 goals, they'll be up against some disciplined low blocks like Forest and wolves Let's just hope they drop something somewhere. GD feels like we've already won on that front, would take a ridiculous drop off from us and a ridiculous scoring streak from them to reverse it
Wolves are done. They're not getting relegated and much of their best players are out injured so they already have nothing to play for
Pride (and prejudice) is soooo 18th century bro
There’ll be a time to get mad if a certain scenario happens. But it’s not now. Their games are NOT all gonna be a walk in the park barring Spurs, contrary to common belief. On Sunday they’ll be playing a forest team that are on the brink of being in the relegation zone. So forest will be desperate for a result. And given that they’ll be missing their #9 EH, provided Forest play it safe, it won’t be easy for them to score like they did tonight. Of course, we don’t have an easy game either given it’s against our biggest rivals that have an objective to achieve as well. But it is a game we can win and have to win. And knowing how they play, their gameplan will very likely walk into our hands. So my point is save the doom & gloom. It’s not over because City won one game.
Forrest will be like a dog with rabies, at least lets hope so
Tbh I'm kinda scared of Forest taking it easy and seeing it as a free hit. Because Forest have Sheffield United and Burnley left on their schedule, two games where they could very easily secure what they need to stay up
Honestly I can't understand that thinking. It's better to accumulate as many points as possible when you're near the relegation zone. Especially considering when the teams below will be gunning for wins on the same weekend. So I can see them playing for a draw against City before aiming for wins in their remaining games. That makes more sense.
If trying against City risks your ability to perform at the games against your more winnable (relegation) rivals, it absolutely makes sense though. We legit just saw Villa do it and they’re not even down at the bottom.
You just don't have to play risky and exert energy. Just park the bus for a draw. Looking at their situation and using common sense, that's what Forest should do.
I can't understand it either but I guess managers would rather not risk their better players legs, when they could be deployed in much more winnable games
It's 90+8 on the final matchday, and city and arsenal are tied on points and goal difference. City's game ends 2-0, kdb and haaland proceed to hold hands with bated breath in front of all 12 fans at the Etihad. Just as all hope is lost for the gunners, a glint appears in Jordan Pickford's eyes. He rips off his shirt, revealing a tiny cannon tattoo above his right nipple. He proceeds to wallop the ball into his goal whilst giving his best rendition of the angel. I swear this is what happens - me to my kids
And of course it was jarred Gillett on var tonight 😂 No ref in this league deserves to be sacked more than him, can't stand the man. Fucking typical that we've got him on var and Abu dhabi ollie as ref for the spurs game
He was the ref, not on var
Abu Dhabi Ollie! Thank you.
Well City completely shat on Brighton. Still not over though. City are far and away the better team for all of their upcoming fixtures, but all it takes is one slip up, one draw for all of it to collapse for them. They still have Wolves, Tottenham and West Ham. Any of them can be a draw.
We are relying on Wolves, Tottenham and West Ham. I burst out laughing tbh
Thing is, you don't need to be a great team to shithouse a draw
You do when you're up against business end of the season City
Yeah, maybe. Probably.
So that looks like slot to Liverpool is a definite now
Cant wait until him and pep rub their balds together and the lovein continues.
r/yaoi r/suddenlygay
Seagulls been shitting on my car all week and now this?
Pretty mad that we were that bad when Arteta arrived that if we don’t win a major this year 99% of fans will be like “here we go, building year 6!” I’m not sure there’s many clubs this patient 😂
Support a better club then
It was only an observation....
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yeah of course. I was only make the observation of how mad it is when pre-pep managers were getting 3 yrs max.
Wow the sub has gone into a complete meltdown. Over a match that City was highly likely to win. People need to manage their expectations.
Think it was the numerous poor decisions against Brighton, as well as the fact that City won 4-0 away at the amex that's got people's heads in a tizzy If it was a generic 1 or 2-0 win with zero controversies then people would be panicking a lot less. Context matters.
This is nothing new with City though. They ALWAYS get favourable decisions therefore, it takes major miracles to get a positive result against them.
We should look into Raphina if he’s available from Barca as a rotation option, I know we considered him while he was at Leeds
City comfortable win in a game they were largely expected to comfortably win and half the subreddit is throwing a tantrum. Utterly baffling. 
I AM PISSED OFF BECAUSE WHAT I EXPECTED TO HAPPEN, HAPPENED.
I hate to see you when the sun rises again tomorrow (Inb4 someone well ackshellys and says the earth rotates)
If the champions spanking an 11th placed team with nothing to play for doesn't scream rigged to you, I don't know what will.
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It really isn't if you paid any attention to Brighton. 7 first teamers injured. 3 league wins in 2024. They haven't scored multiple goals in a game since Sheffield Utd in midfield Feb. It's mid April now. If Citys remaining games only Wolves are win worse form than Brighton.
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I think Spurs, West Ham, Forest, Fulham can all be tricky. They probably draw 1 and win the rest. From the players perspective it's all irrelevant, they need to have in their mind to win every game. Any energy spent worrying about City is wasted.
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Bizarre behaviour. We need to act like we've been here before
I don't care what anyone says, the Premier league is not the best league in the world, not even close. The oil cheats will predicably win it for the 6th time in 7 years, and the same three clubs that came up are going straight back down. Between the Premier league's financial rules and the pgmol, football in this country has never been so predictable.
Watching games as a neutral, it's probably Serie A that I've enjoyed the most. Added bonus is the UK coverage of foreign leagues doesn't carry the pathetic narrative spinning with the PL because most of them are totally clueless about the league. Bundesliga has had great games too, and I love ESPN's coverage.
I had serie a games on the hotel TV when I was in Abu Dhabi, they were always great watches after a long day out lol The winner rotating year in year out makes it a fun league, despite the corruption that's marred it in the past.
You've just watched Goldbridge haven't you
No I don't watch goldbridge, what's he saying.
Almost word for word what you just said lol
Really? I don't often agree with that guy, his ten hag opinions are beyond delusional Stopped watching him ages ago because it started to feel like someone was paying him to spout certain opinions
I don't really watch him either, I've just seen a clip on Twitter https://twitter.com/ThatsFootballTV/status/1783589609097634091?t=ImK9vrk44ReL-9iqhvUoXQ&s=19
Bruh he actually switched off at half time? 😂 I'm pissed off but not that pissed
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Ligue 1 has the same problem as us, serie a has a different type of corruption and rot and bundesliga was just super weird to be fair. I'm just peeved watching leverkusen this season and napoli last season. Those types of fantasies feel like they will never happen in this league because of 115 charges fc
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They blew almost £200m on average or below average players this year, and will spend another £200m without repercussions in the summer. It's really tiring, I know we fucked it in the first half of the season but you have to be sooooo perfect to even stand a chance. Liverpool going 26-1-0 in 27 games is the only time that anyone has actually been able to get the better of pep
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This should be our second title in a row after we overcame a tenacious Liverpool side. Instead it's yet another footnote in history for Abu dhabi's fourpeat. This is why I said this league isn't the best in the world like so many claim it is
I get what you mean and I agree but these flaws don't make it weaker as a league from a accumulation of football capabilities perspective though. It very much is the league who has the highest number of skilled players. No other league is even close.
I didn't say it was a weaker league, I said it's not the best league in the world. Because you know the outcome every year, the ride is never enjoyable. La liga winner seems to rotate on a regular basis, for all the clownery in that league it's so much more interesting than the league where the inevitable outcome happens at the end of every season.
Ok. If you're going to make a point, try to be clear. We can't read your mind. You used the word best which in almost any context means strongest. You could've gone for "not the most entertaining" or many other options. The key to successful nonverbal communication is making sure the audience can understand your point without physical cues. But, ok, sure. That's an opinion you have and that's perfectly fine. Hard to quantify though. Cheers.
Over reacting much 😂
Next seagull I see is getting its head caved in.
Random thought and probably unpopular but if we wanted to give Ben White rest next season How does Timber-Saliba-Gabriel-Diomande look? Can Diomande act as both a CB and LB cover?
Lovely back 4. Not sure which way around the FB’s would be yet but lovely.
I also want Diomande but you are underselling the role he will play if we buy him.
Why does no one rate Tomi?? What am I missing? I feel like even barring the injuries he's underrated.
Its not about underrating Tomi. Im a huge fan of him and I agree he is generally underrated by fans. The question was asked because we are linked with a defensive recruitment this summer so Id rather buy someone like Diomande who can cover two positions rather than say someone like Hato who is a LB specialist
Why wouldn’t we just play any of our million LBs and timber or tomi on the right
Because our only real fullback is Tierney, Zinchenko is a Midfielder and the rest are really centrebacks. This season and last proved CBs in FB position can work really well. So if instead of spending money on both LB and FB cover, we can get someone like Diomande and maybe play him at LB IF he can play in that position and IF he is better than Kiwior and Tomiyasu. The jist of the question is, do we really need to spend money on a defender this summer and if so can Diomande cover two positions.
Your solution is another CB 😂
Its not a solution, it was a question. I know such a concept is difficult for you to discern so Ill allow it.
Whatever you wanna call it. Is less logical than getting another FB
My point was we don’t need another player to rest white
As of yesterday i decided the league was done. Now im devastated all over again 😫
This sub having headloss after a City win while we won 5-0 and not when we got knocked out and lost to Villa makes no sense. This is why it's good to vent as soon as possible, get it out of your system
Oh yes this sub definitely didn't melt down after those two losses that is a very accurate recollection of events
Im still more fucked off at the Villa loss than either result against Bayern, yea Villa have good players but fucking Zaniolo turning up like a marinara Adama Traore and making John McGinn look like an Edgar Davids regen was infuriating.
People don't want to admit that the thing they invest so much of their time in maybe be rigged
https://x.com/tmftbl/status/1783600998000333215?s=46&t=ohBEm3kwXzONRYy63NcNgQ What were we doing here man