Noisy Neighbours - the Man City thread

[hhyftrftdr]

Just an excuse to moan about something, which people love to do

Tighty started it on here     He didn't mean what he said - just seeding

Mischievious, Archer

Tighty is the GOAT of every forum I've ever been a member of.

There's only one Goat, and he's called Shaun.

[Pokerpops]

Just an excuse to moan about something, which people love to do

Tighty started it on here     He didn't mean what he said - just seeding

Mischievious, Archer

Tighty is the GOAT of every forum I've ever been a member of.

There's only one Goat, and he's called Shaun.

Click to see full-size image.

[hhyftrftdr]

Would've snapped your hand off for a draw at 4pm yesterday, but a tinge of disappointment that we didn't take all 3 points.

Mahrez will get some stick, and it was an awful penalty, but despite our talent we didn't really have a recognised penalty taker on the pitch. Which seems silly to say when you look at who was playing, but with Aguero subbed, Gundogan injured and Yaya long gone, our options for a reliable taker were slim when the ref blew up.

I might have been inclined to give it to one of the Silva's, but hindsight is a beautiful thing.

One of our key men yesterday I felt was Mendy, and he actually had a pretty poor game. But I don't think it's a coincidence that he didn't feature in any of our 3 defeats to Liverpool last season. Just his mere presence on the field is enough to keep their full backs occupied, and his athleticism is a great tool to nullify their swashbuckling runs before they even start. Walker played well on the other side, and Stones and Laporte are different gravy right now. We kept a great, disciplined shape and weathered Liverpool attacks pretty comfortably, a refreshing change to the collapses we are used to witnessing at Anfield.

Should see KDB back in action after the international break (zzzzzz), though he might find it tough to get straight back in the team. A nice problem for Pep to have.

[Pokerpops]

Would've snapped your hand off for a draw at 4pm yesterday, but a tinge of disappointment that we didn't take all 3 points.

Mahrez will get some stick, and it was an awful penalty, but despite our talent we didn't really have a recognised penalty taker on the pitch. Which seems silly to say when you look at who was playing, but with Aguero subbed, Gundogan injured and Yaya long gone, our options for a reliable taker were slim when the ref blew up.

I might have been inclined to give it to one of the Silva's, but hindsight is a beautiful thing.

One of our key men yesterday I felt was Mendy, and he actually had a pretty poor game. But I don't think it's a coincidence that he didn't feature in any of our 3 defeats to Liverpool last season. Just his mere presence on the field is enough to keep their full backs occupied, and his athleticism is a great tool to nullify their swashbuckling runs before they even start. Walker played well on the other side, and Stones and Laporte are different gravy right now. We kept a great, disciplined shape and weathered Liverpool attacks pretty comfortably, a refreshing change to the collapses we are used to witnessing at Anfield.

Should see KDB back in action after the international break (zzzzzz), though he might find it tough to get straight back in the team. A nice problem for Pep to have.

de Bruyne is the first name on the team sheet at the other 19 PL clubs and may struggle to get a start with you. That is an effing scary thought for the rest of us.

[vegaslover]

If we (Liverpool) had KDB we would win the league

[hhyftrftdr]

If we (Liverpool) had KDB we would win the league

Would he get a game ahead of Henderson though?

[Archer]

Would've snapped your hand off for a draw at 4pm yesterday, but a tinge of disappointment that we didn't take all 3 points.

Mahrez will get some stick, and it was an awful penalty, but despite our talent we didn't really have a recognised penalty taker on the pitch. Which seems silly to say when you look at who was playing, but with Aguero subbed, Gundogan injured and Yaya long gone, our options for a reliable taker were slim when the ref blew up.

I might have been inclined to give it to one of the Silva's, but hindsight is a beautiful thing.

One of our key men yesterday I felt was Mendy, and he actually had a pretty poor game. But I don't think it's a coincidence that he didn't feature in any of our 3 defeats to Liverpool last season. Just his mere presence on the field is enough to keep their full backs occupied, and his athleticism is a great tool to nullify their swashbuckling runs before they even start. Walker played well on the other side, and Stones and Laporte are different gravy right now. We kept a great, disciplined shape and weathered Liverpool attacks pretty comfortably, a refreshing change to the collapses we are used to witnessing at Anfield.

Should see KDB back in action after the international break (zzzzzz), though he might find it tough to get straight back in the team. A nice problem for Pep to have.

All this as usual. Mendy scares me 😊 After a difficult start he did just fine though.

Not a game for the neutral wanting swashbuckling end to end football but I thought it was fantastic and utterly absorbing. The sort of game that benefits from watching high up in the stands rather than the limited view on TV. Also, I’m increasingly tilted by TV showing repeated replays whilst the game is going on and max tilt with the lingering close-ups. A long Ederson ball can be a thing of beauty and the number of times it is missed is staggering.

Yep, disappointed not to get the win but as far as the big picture goes it was great to see such a high level and disciplined defensive performance which might be a “go to” further down the line in certain games.
I though Liverpool were excellent as well. Not firing up front (or not allowed to in the last couple of games) but defensively they are superb and serious contenders for the big prizes. Liverpool and City, renown for flaky back line, now having the tightest defences in Europe so far this season in terms of goals conceded and xG. Who would have though it?

Stones/Laporte and Bernardo/Dinho were the stand-outs.  Laporte is still very much flying under the radar but he is the number 1 central defender for Pep and has been superb (except at fullback) this season. Maybe he’ll get an international cap soon. Pretty amazing really that someone so good hasn’t. Not prone to mistakes as well unlike that VVD fellow…

[Archer]

If we (Liverpool) had KDB we would win the league

Would he get a game ahead of Henderson though?

Difficult one that but Jurgen Klopp would rather have James Milner than KDB or David Silva according to John Barnes:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6246793/Jurgen-Klopp-Milner-Bruyne-Silva-says-John-Barnes.html

[nirvana]

Don't you think Pep just bottled it because Liverpool smacked him upside his head last year

[Archer]

Don't you think Pep just bottled it because Liverpool smacked him upside his head last year

That's one view.

Another one is for Guardiola to double-down on nullification here after seeing his brilliant team look shell-shocked and stripped of their superpowers so recently from a nigh-on identical fixture was brave indeed. It was as brave as setting his side up 4-2-4 and instructing his full-backs to fly forward at every opportunity. It required the same level of commitment and trust in his principles too. Because it was always going to necessitate the withstanding of early, intensive pressure against a high, feverish press, and it was always going to need Stones and Laporte to be imperious and perfect; at times stroking the ball somewhat surreally across their own goal-line with Ederson acting as the go-between. That’s gutsy. That’s really, really gutsy.

https://www.unibet.co.uk/blog/football/premier-league/manchester-city-produced-another-masterclass-that-lulled-anfield-to-tranquillity-1.1079209

[teddybloat]

what of marhez?

thought jesus wanted the pen as he felt he was the man who had seniority and was best qualified. he seemed to be stepping up in a way that took on responsibility for the team

marhez pulling rank smacked of selfishness. it was a scared pen from a serial penalty botcher who seemed like he wanted a chance to get his own stats up despite not being confident.

yeah, pep just oozes quality though. constantly attempting to be one step ahead, always underlined with principle. even his failures are bold ones, he never loses with a shrug or whimper.

what a time to be a united fan watching the klopp / pep rivalry play out across seasons whilst their manager turns the likes of pogba and martial into hod carriers

[hhyftrftdr]

By all accounts Mahrez was the designated taker on the field. How true that is I'm not sure, it could just be Pep trying to protect the players.

GJ's record from the spot is also poor, albeit a small sample (think he's missed 2 of 3 but don't quote me on that!) As I mentioned in the post above, we were left in a weird situation where we had a wealth of talent on display but no player capable of stepping up that you'd confidently put your house on to score.

Thought Pep handled it well, made a point of going to both players at the final whistle, and didn't make a drama out of it in the post match interviews. I'm sure there are certain other managers kicking about that might have thrown their player under a bus (no pun) in similar situations.

[Archer]

what of marhez?

thought jesus wanted the pen as he felt he was the man who had seniority and was best qualified. he seemed to be stepping up in a way that took on responsibility for the team

marhez pulling rank smacked of selfishness. it was a scared pen from a serial penalty botcher who seemed like he wanted a chance to get his own stats up despite not being confident.

yeah, pep just oozes quality though. constantly attempting to be one step ahead, always underlined with principle. even his failures are bold ones, he never loses with a shrug or whimper.

what a time to be a united fan watching the klopp / pep rivalry play out across seasons whilst their manager turns the likes of pogba and martial into hod carriers

First thing I said to my lad when we were awarded the penalty was "please not jesus" and wanted mahrez to take it. I was aware jesus was 1 out of 3 pens for City but blissfully unaware how bad mahrez's record was until they put up the graphic. Apparently the instruction came from Pep so don't think it was a case  of selfishness.

It's not just klopp/pep. You can add poch/sarri/emery into the mix as well. All the top 5 happy with their managers at the mo.

[teddybloat]

klopp / pep just seems like the making of a saga of the type they were always at the centre of.

now they have to put up with whatever functional dross is served up for them, and it must be amplified whenever they play city / liverpool and compare their approach with the levelling wars that go on when their two rivals meet.

re marhez i might just be biased by his demeanour / how he managed to both look like a man eager to take a pen and one who lacked any faith in his own ability to score one.

[Archer]

klopp / pep just seems like the making of a saga of the type they were always at the centre of.

now they have to put up with whatever functional dross is served up for them, and it must be amplified whenever they play city / liverpool and compare their approach with the levelling wars that go on when their two rivals meet.

re marhez i might just be biased by his demeanour / how he managed to both look like a man eager to take a pen and one who lacked any faith in his own ability to score one.

12 months ago United had played 8 games with a record of w6 d2 L0 scoring 21 and with just 2 conceded. Probably the rosiest point post-Ferguson and at the time real contenders for the title with the great Mou at the helm and his  fabled year 2 record. So, City's dominance and the transformation in Liverpool's fortunes since allied to the best football and both clubs pulling as one behind the scenes must be pretty difficult to accept. It is difficult to see a fall-off for either City or Liverpool in the near future as well.