I heard about this challenge on SSN last night but hadn't seen it. It's nowhere near as bad as they made out. A bit reckless and you can't take the ball and the man these days, but not a sending off in my opinion.
Also, because it's City I think Laporte has been overlooked but he has the potential to be absolutely world class. They, and other big clubs, have been tracking him for ages. I think it was a couple years ago that he had a nasty leg break, and that understandably derailed him. But he has all the tools to be a great center back for many years.
Whilst he wasn't signed by Guardiola, City paid £26m for David Silva almost 8 years now. Even at 32 he is still a big influence so much so that, since August he has played 25 matches in all competitions of which they have won all 25.
One of the Premier League greats - on and off the pitch.
Whilst he wasn't signed by Guardiola, City paid £26m for David Silva almost 8 years now. Even at 32 he is still a big influence so much so that, since August he has played 25 matches in all competitions of which they have won all 25.
One of the Premier League greats - on and off the pitch.
Whilst he wasn't signed by Guardiola, City paid £26m for David Silva almost 8 years now. Even at 32 he is still a big influence so much so that, since August he has played 25 matches in all competitions of which they have won all 25.
One of the Premier League greats - on and off the pitch.
You met him then?
No but I have read extensively about him. By the same token you never met Elvis but it hasn't ever stopped you being a massive fan has it?
Whilst he wasn't signed by Guardiola, City paid £26m for David Silva almost 8 years now. Even at 32 he is still a big influence so much so that, since August he has played 25 matches in all competitions of which they have won all 25.
One of the Premier League greats - on and off the pitch.
You met him then?
No but I have read extensively about him. By the same token you never met Elvis but it hasn't ever stopped you being a massive fan has it?
How anyone can sit here and justify their spending. It's ruining the game.
I don't see how they're ruining the game when their record fee spent is the 57m they spent on Laporte this month. PSG spent 360m on two players in the summer, which as a result has bumped up every other players price by about 30%. Barca have spent almost 300m on four players since the Neymar move. United spent 90m on Pogba and 75m on a wardrobe.
Yes City have spent a lot, and mainly on their defence but people forget that Guardiola had to completely overhaul an ageing side. A couple of years ago, they had the likes of Zabaleta, Kolarov, Sagna, Clichy and Demichelis, not to mention Hart who didn't suit his style of play. So replacing an entire defence to compete at the top of the table and in europe was obviously going to cost a lot. What people also forget to take into account is that they've bought the likes of Ederson (age 24) Stones (23), Laporte (23), Mendy (23), who can be there for 9-10 years, as well as Walker who can be there for 5-6. Spread those fees over the duration of the time they could spend there then it's not bad at all.
Who else have they bought? De Bruyne for 55m, easily worth 150-170m at todays prices. Sane 45m, would fetch double that if sold. Gabriel Jesus is only 20 and is already Brazil's first choice centre forward. He was only about 30m, would go for 3-4 times that if sold.
Plenty of people just look at the total they've spent without seeing the bigger picture. They've re-shaped a squad, bought world class young players and are building a side that can dominate for many years.
£468m spent in his 18 months in charge. Not interested in a debate. We all know that City and Chelsea would have never won premier league titles without Abu Dhabi /Abramovic intervention. Added to that Bournemouth in the Prem in a 10k capacity stadium.
£468m spent in his 18 months in charge. Not interested in a debate. We all know that City and Chelsea would have never won premier league titles without Abu Dhabi /Abramovic intervention. Added to that Bournemouth in the Prem in a 10k capacity stadium.
Money has ruined the game for long standing fans.
True but if it wasn't for their intervention we'd probably have seen Man U win another 5-6 titles, so i know what i'd prefer
£468m spent in his 18 months in charge. Not interested in a debate. We all know that City and Chelsea would have never won premier league titles without Abu Dhabi /Abramovic intervention. Added to that Bournemouth in the Prem in a 10k capacity stadium.
£468m spent in his 18 months in charge. Not interested in a debate. We all know that City and Chelsea would have never won premier league titles without Abu Dhabi /Abramovic intervention. Added to that Bournemouth in the Prem in a 10k capacity stadium.
Money has ruined the game for long standing fans.
The US college draft system was devised to prevent their football becoming dominated by the same big money players year after year.
I have no idea what we could do to level the playing field though. While the broadcast companies are happy the money will keep flooding in.
I don’t think anything will change until a host of lower league clubs start going bust. And even then it’ll probably be too little too late.
Amazing. Not a peep from the dozen or so Citeh "fans" on my feed last night, considering after each win they buy they are giving it the large one. Doubt any of them went to the game, no doubt too busy keeping a sock company.
Money can sometimes buy you trophies but you can't buy class apparently.
£468m spent in his 18 months in charge. Not interested in a debate. We all know that City and Chelsea would have never won premier league titles without Abu Dhabi /Abramovic intervention. Added to that Bournemouth in the Prem in a 10k capacity stadium.
Money has ruined the game for long standing fans.
I am a long standing football fan. Money has not ruined the game for me. I remember when Liverpool and Man United completely dominated our football for 10 years at a time. Nobody got close to them. Man City may go onto dominate but it will only be for 3 or 4 years or however long Pep chooses to stay there. Meanwhile we continue to have the most competitive league amongst the major football nations in Europe with the world's best players. If you are a football fan what is the problem?
When I read complaints about how money has ruined football an image always springs to mind of a bunch of Sinclair computer enthusiasts having their weekly meeting in the back room of a pub and constantly whinging about how Apple has ruined the world of personal computing for longstanding genuine enthusiasts like themselves.
How did Liverpool and Man U get to be number one though? By being the best.
Man City are only number one because a family sitting on a valuable fossil fuel bought a team that was benefiting from an athletics stadium package.
Aah, I thought Liverpool & Man U got to be the best, because they had big attendances and ergo most money.
And people went to go see them because they played good football.
You can make the big attendance argument with Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle etc. who have all had their day in the sun but ultimately Man U and Liverpool were able to keep a consistent level of football to match their ambitions, along with stable ownership and being well run.
Ultimately the success of both teams is very much rooted into their culture and local influence. Meanwhile, the Man City story could have happened anywhere in the country and been largely the same. Man City was just the most obvious choice for the royal family to buy because they were well placed for the shiny new stadium and Etihad Campus, as well as having a strong local following.
The argument can be made that the big teams when the Premier League began have abused their size and influence in order to consolidate their position at the expense of the rest of the 92 but that is a somewhat separate problem.
"'Congratulations for Wigan for the qualification, they had one shot on target"
Very classy comment from a manager who's substitute goalkeeper costs over 4 times the amount the opposition's squad cost. The melt down if Jose had sent this would be unreal.
"'Congratulations for Wigan for the qualification, they had one shot on target"
Very classy comment from a manager who's substitute goalkeeper costs over 4 times the amount the opposition's squad cost. The melt down if Jose had sent this would be unreal.
I don't understand the Pep Cult. Seen as some kind of genius by landing jobs with already world-class teams and winning trophies when awarded transfer budgets that eclipse the budget of a micronation.
Comments
One of the Premier League greats - on and off the pitch.
Yes City have spent a lot, and mainly on their defence but people forget that Guardiola had to completely overhaul an ageing side. A couple of years ago, they had the likes of Zabaleta, Kolarov, Sagna, Clichy and Demichelis, not to mention Hart who didn't suit his style of play. So replacing an entire defence to compete at the top of the table and in europe was obviously going to cost a lot. What people also forget to take into account is that they've bought the likes of Ederson (age 24) Stones (23), Laporte (23), Mendy (23), who can be there for 9-10 years, as well as Walker who can be there for 5-6. Spread those fees over the duration of the time they could spend there then it's not bad at all.
Who else have they bought? De Bruyne for 55m, easily worth 150-170m at todays prices. Sane 45m, would fetch double that if sold. Gabriel Jesus is only 20 and is already Brazil's first choice centre forward. He was only about 30m, would go for 3-4 times that if sold.
Plenty of people just look at the total they've spent without seeing the bigger picture. They've re-shaped a squad, bought world class young players and are building a side that can dominate for many years.
Money has ruined the game for long standing fans.
I have no idea what we could do to level the playing field though. While the broadcast companies are happy the money will keep flooding in.
I don’t think anything will change until a host of lower league clubs start going bust. And even then it’ll probably be too little too late.
Money can sometimes buy you trophies but you can't buy class apparently.
When I read complaints about how money has ruined football an image always springs to mind of a bunch of Sinclair computer enthusiasts having their weekly meeting in the back room of a pub and constantly whinging about how Apple has ruined the world of personal computing for longstanding genuine enthusiasts like themselves.
Man City are only number one because a family sitting on a valuable fossil fuel bought a team that was benefiting from an athletics stadium package.
You can make the big attendance argument with Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle etc. who have all had their day in the sun but ultimately Man U and Liverpool were able to keep a consistent level of football to match their ambitions, along with stable ownership and being well run.
Ultimately the success of both teams is very much rooted into their culture and local influence. Meanwhile, the Man City story could have happened anywhere in the country and been largely the same. Man City was just the most obvious choice for the royal family to buy because they were well placed for the shiny new stadium and Etihad Campus, as well as having a strong local following.
The argument can be made that the big teams when the Premier League began have abused their size and influence in order to consolidate their position at the expense of the rest of the 92 but that is a somewhat separate problem.
Very classy comment from a manager who's substitute goalkeeper costs over 4 times the amount the opposition's squad cost. The melt down if Jose had sent this would be unreal.