231 replies to this topic

[LTF]

I generally dislike when established football supporter tells burgeoning football supporter that he should root for such-and-such club because such-and-such club reminds him of a particular American sports franchise. Everybody's club is just like that widely admired, upstart, underdog American franchise; meanwhile, nobody wants to admit they root for the English equivalent of the Yankees. (Like City.)

All that being said, there was something very Red Sox 2004-esque about this past season's league victory. Not to piggyback on what Zomp said in another thread in here-- not sure if you guys remember Zomp; he's the dude that roots for that other Manchester club; you know, the one that "did the Devon Loch" and choked in historic fashion -- but it wasn't solely about winning, but the thrilling, unforgettable manner in which they won. Coming back from 8 points down with 6 matches to play (I still haven't been able to confirm if this is the greatest collapse in top-flight history), dismantling United in the third to last match of the season, rallying in dramatic fashion against QPR on the final day. I heard "You couldn't have scripted it better" countless times following City's win. Really, you couldn't have.

Anyway, it's time to move on. It's time to defend the league title, improve upon last year's finish in the Champions League, and maybe take more than one fucking point from Sunderland. The season begins Aug. 12.

(I'd also like to mention that I was recently at the receiving end of a City-related jeer. This had never happened before. Walking to the Paradise the other night, a passerby saw my shirt and rather eloquently told me that "Man City sucks." It's a brave new world. Ha.)

[Zomp]

Shut the fuck up.

[teddykgb]

The CL needs to be a major focus now. Chelsea looks to be strengthening massively for the league, so defending the title will be a heck of a job. But that can't come at the cost of at least CL advancement. Winning enough games in the Europa helped City climb into Pot 2 for the draw, which at least gives City an option to not be in a group of death this time. Looking back on it, given how far Napoli and Bayern progressed, there's less shame in failing in the group stages last year, but it's a performance that can't be repeated.

On the plus side, Chelsea are thumbing their nose at FFP, which makes it interesting. I honestly think City have made and are continuing to make great strides at being in accordance with the rulings, but it's probably helpful to have Chelsea be an even worse offender.

For the upcoming season, it seems like a pacy winger is a target, as was the case last season with the neverending pursuit of Alexis. Hazard is already off the table (and wanted to be a CAM anyway) and so City moves on. RvP rumors just won't go away, but I honestly have no idea why we'd be in on a striker. RvP is also kind of old to buy and truth be told he just sort of remains a Gunner. I'd be ecstatic to have him, but it seems unnecessary.

Supposedly Bayern have agreed a fee with Dzeko. As far as I'm concerned, Bayern can fuck right off. They won't close their stupid mouths about City all goddamned year and during CL qualifications, now they want to unsettle a player who was admittedly likely already unsettled. City should make a nice offer on Kroos just to fuck with them. The Premier League Champions bow to NOONE.

[SoxFanInCali]

The pots will depend on who wins the qualifiers, but right now it's probable that Juventus will be in pot 3 and Dortmund in pot 4. If so, it's possible that the champions of Spain, England, Italy, and Germany could get drawn into a single group.

[DLew On Roids]

Shut the fuck up.

Finally Man U and Liverpool fans can agree on something.

[teddykgb]

Fixtures are out...no complaints from me although I wish the CL Home Games were released so I could see if I could sneak another trip in this season.

Really just coming in here to post this for LTF in case he hasn't seen it

Edited by teddykgb, 18 June 2012 - 09:40 AM.

[teddykgb]

Also posting this here during transfer season because it made me laugh....we love our strikers

[LTF]

Fixtures are out...no complaints from me although I wish the CL Home Games were released so I could see if I could sneak another trip in this season.

Really just coming in here to post this for LTF in case he hasn't seen it

Thanks for posting it. I hadn't seen it before, though my frequent watching of old City matches via Fox Soccer's "Premier League Classics" familiarized me with the name.

[goyangfc]

Your new away kit for 2012/13.

http://www.footballs...ball-shirt.html

[Zomp]

A professional club uses Photoshop for new kits? Really?

[teddykgb]

better than using the local italian joint's table coverings?

I agree though, if they're going to use photoshop they should put the gold badges on there.

Next season will be Nike, which is a shame. Umbro have done a great job on the City kits thus far. They're the same company, basically, but Umbro is apparently going to be sold and Nike doesn't want to lose MCFC, so we'll get something more mediocre moving forward. Not really crazy about this season's home or away, but that tends to be the initial reaction to all the new stuff, I bet it'll grow on me

[LTF]

I really dislike the City badge, but have to admit, the monochromatic version of it on the new home kit is growing on me. And that black collar is really fucking sharp. Hell, just having a collar is sharp. I looked back through some old kits and I think the last time City had a kit with a collar was 2002-03. This may be the year I finally cave and get a home jersey.

I have a training jersey that's very similar in color to the road kit. I'm digging it.

Not that anyone cares, but my favorite recent City kit was the 2009-10 road ones:



Black and yellow for the Manchester bee.

[Zomp]

[LTF]

What can I say? The dude loves golf as much as Rooney loves prostitutes.

[teddykgb]

I should get my work employee ID put on a hat so I can wear it everywhere

[goyangfc]

Your third kit got leaked.

http://www.footballs...irt-leaked.html

[Tony the Pony]

Can't believe Citeh wants 8M pounds for Guidetti

and that the mackems will probably pay it

[Snakebauer007]

Your third kit got leaked.

http://www.footballs...irt-leaked.html

From AC Milan To Inter?

[teddykgb]

Can't believe Citeh wants 8M pounds for Guidetti

and that the mackems will probably pay it

I think it's worth it. I wish they were trying to incorporate him instead of sell him. Big fella just has a knack for putting the ball in the net. He really might be world class.

[DLew On Roids]

City's kit today looks spectacular. All red with gold trim is the kit of a truly classy side.

[Zomp]

Jack The Lad is a great signing.

[teddykgb]

City's kit today looks spectacular. All red with gold trim is the kit of a truly classy side.

I admit you got a chuckle out of me.

Zomp, thus far it looks a shame mufc couldn't afford Hazard, he and Ashley young could have been a hell of a diving team

Edited by teddykgb, 12 August 2012 - 08:02 AM.

[teddykgb]

Enjoying this game now.

David Silva super sub!

[LTF]

So what's the deal with the 3-5-2 going forward? I know it's a formation Mancini has employed here and there during his tenure at City. But from what I read, it was utilized quite a bit during the pre-season and City opened with it against Chelsea on Sunday. I'm not going to get terribly excited over how they looked in the 3-5-2 for all the obvious reasons (the match being a glorified friendly, Chelsea down to 10 men, City's injuries, the grotesque presence of Stefan Savic, etc.), but it did seem to bring out the best in some of the more maligned players from last season, particularly Milner and Kolarov. Will we see more of it this season?

[teddykgb]

I think we'll probably see more of it than we have in the past, but the consensus still seems to be that it won't be our primary formation. I agree that it brought out the best in Kolarov and Milner, and it made me wish Mancini didn't seem to hate Dzeko so that we could see that formation with a tall striker in the box to get on the end of all those crosses. I think we'll likely use it to change a game in the 2nd half if the 4-2-3-1 isn't breaking the other team down and maybe more in Europe, but it really is pretty telling that he played the CS in that formation. Although it may have just been a ploy to show the management that we need another CB since he's serious about playing 3 in the back and one of those three might just end up being Savic, who is a complete disaster back there at the moment.

LTF if you're serious about the home shirt, We Got Soccer down in Foxboro has the shirt for sale locally, which is cool, although it's 80 bucks and you could get it with gold PL badges for the same price from the MCFC store.

[LTF]

Yeah, I'm gonna pull the trigger on that eventually. Maybe for Christmas. And I saw online that the official City shop had a deal where you got the Premier League gold badge for nothing. Gotta gets me a gold badge.

[LTF]

Anyone see this?

http://www.guardian....ayer-statistics

On Friday, City will make available through its website the data on every player in every team from every game in the Premier League last season. That may not enrapture the supporter fixated on Robin van Persie's next career move but to the growing number of researchers, sports scientists and bloggers seeking new ways to measure performance and value a player, it is potentially ground-breaking.

Until now, data that costs all Premier League clubs a small fortune each season has not been widely available or at least widely accessible to the public. Baseball may have been revolutionised by Bill James's sabermetric findings from the late 1970s onwards, leading to Michael Lewis's book Moneyball and now a film starring Brad Pitt, basketball coaches make tactical decisions based on live data during a game, but developments in football have largely remained in-house.

Somewhere in the English equivalent to Watertown the English equivalent to Eric Van has clicked off the English equivalent to the "Teen Choice Awards" and begun hyperventilating.

[DLew On Roids]

"RICKIE LAMBERT, CELEBRATE."

Sorry, City fans. You'll probably win anyway. That was the best TV quote from last year, so I couldn't help myself.

Edited by DLew On Roids, 19 August 2012 - 11:30 AM.

[LTF]

Biggest story today is not that City once again showed that it seems to play better when behind -- it was Aguero leaving with under 10 minutes to go with a right knee injury. Dude looked like he was in a lot of pain inititally. He walked off the field, but was then given the stretcher treatment to the locker room. Haven't heard anything regarding what showed up on the MRI. All I know is it means Dzeko can stop bitching about coming off the bench. Man, this sucks.

[LTF]

As for the match ... Silva was flat (had one of the worst penalty kicks you'll ever see and also missed horribly from point blank range), Tevez wasn't the first choice on City's spot kick in the first half (what was up with that?), Nasri and Clichy were terrific, Mancini reverted back to a 4-4-2, and Rodwell earned his first start as defensive midfielder. I thought he did alright, but at the same time, didn't need to do a whole lot. Everyone is gonna be talking about his gaffe, however, which led to Southamptom's second goal.

[teddykgb]

Silva looked like he hadn't played and was generally pretty bad. I can't believe he took the PK, but I doubt it'll stay that way for long. Really scared for Aguero. Rumors are hot again about DDR, but i dare not even start to believe it. Thought Rodwell was actually pretty good, but I was stuck watching via slingbox on my phone. The pass to break was unfortunate, but it was mostly a weighting problem and his teammates didn't exactly get back and cover that counter. He was otherwise very tidy with the ball and decisive in keeping the ball moving, really fit right in.

Dzeko is a tough player to judge. He does so many good things and creates a lot of opportunities, but he really takes some nightmare touches and squanders a bunch as well. I think this is why he's better when he plays the full 90, gives him enough time to make up for 2 or 3 squanders he's going to make. To be fair to him, when Aguero or Tevez squander by dribbling into 3 men I don't notice it as much as when a big player like Dzeko does. Overall, it looks like he and Balotelli are going to get a chance to run off of Tevez, who was as good as he's ever been for us today.

[JayMags71]

"The studies I had done revealed there's no significant injury but it was a very tough blow to my knee," Aguero said on Twitter.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1137482/sergio-aguero-injury-worries-manchester-city's-roberto-mancini?cc=5901

[DLew On Roids]

Mancini is saying they won't have the MRI for a couple of days. WTF?

I thought he'd lost his ACL. Lots of times you see a guy's ACL get popped and he walks off the field. Once the initial pain subsides, they think they can go back in, only to realize he doesn't have something in the knee anymore.

[SocrManiac]

Both my wife and I were convinced when it happened that he broke his leg. On the replay, you see his leg semi-planted, then without any intentional movement on his part it hops like something popped. Just disgusting. Obviously, that's not what happened, but he'd have to be one lucky guy to have things move like that with no damage at all.

[teddykgb]

Can we please stop posting about how horrifically njured Sergio Aguero may be? I'm going to be in the fetal position soon

[Zomp]

Danielle De Rossi has scheduled a press conference tomorrow. He's either staying at Roma or going to City.

Really don't want to see one of my favorite players come to you...especially if it comes with pairing him with Yaya Toure...

[teddykgb]

Yeah, what a midfield it would be. It isn't going to happen, he loves Roma and won't leave

[soxfan121]

Can we please stop posting about how horrifically njured Sergio Aguero may be? I'm going to be in the fetal position soon

My sister's brother's cousin's friend's nursemaid's bartender's girlfriend works at the MRI facility and she said they had to amputate his leg.

[DLew On Roids]

Can we please stop posting about how horrifically njured Sergio Aguero may be? I'm going to be in the fetal position soon

Yeah, this Liverpool fan really wishes he had your problems.

[LTF]

Yeah, what a midfield it would be. It isn't going to happen, he loves Roma and won't leave

Yup: http://menmedia.co.u...commits-to-roma

Also, the MEN is saying Aguero could be back in a month: http://menmedia.co.u...er-options-open

Sergio Aguero is targeting a first-team comeback for Manchester City next month after a scan on his knee discovered the injury isn’t as bad as first feared.

Roberto Mancini admitted he was ‘worried’ after Aguero was stretchered off 15 minutes into the victory over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

But after the game Aguero tweeted that there was ‘no significant damage’ and with a scan bringing more positive news, the 24-year-old is in line to make his return when City visit Stoke on September 15.

Finally, tranfer rumblings ... The latest is Scott Sinclair for five millions pounds and Adam Johnson to Sunderland for 10.

[bosox4283]

Are you hearing anything about Diego Godin, the Uruguayan defender, making a move to City? The Spanish paper AS is reporting City could be interested in acquiring the 26-year-old defender for about 10 million euros.

Edited by bosox4283, 22 August 2012 - 05:44 AM.

[DLew On Roids]

It's a good move to bolster the City squad, but selfishly, I'm disappointed to see this move by Sinclair. He's an excellent player who's entertaining to watch and could be a regular at a side challenging for the CL, and we won't see him much for the foreseeable future. I guess you go when you're 25 and Mansour backs up the armored truck for the payday that sets you for life, but it seems pretty likely that he'll end up like Wayne Bridge.

[teddykgb]

It's a good move to bolster the City squad, but selfishly, I'm disappointed to see this move by Sinclair. He's an excellent player who's entertaining to watch and could be a regular at a side challenging for the CL, and we won't see him much for the foreseeable future. I guess you go when you're 25 and Mansour backs up the armored truck for the payday that sets you for life, but it seems pretty likely that he'll end up like Wayne Bridge.

I don't think he'll be a Wayne Bridge, that's a bit of a strange comparison to make. He's presumably being brought in for some of Adam Johnson's time, and AJ played quite a bit last season. City has absolutely nothing in the wingers department, so if Sinclair comes in and makes a strong claim, I think you'll see a lot more of him than you'd think. That said, I don't think we're going to setup with traditional wingers all that often, but I think Mancini is going to vary his tactics quite a bit more this season. In any case, I don't think he ever ends up out in the cold like Bridge did, but he may have to be content with 15 minute spells as an attempted impact sub while getting run in cup games for a while.

[DLew On Roids]

I don't think he'll be a Wayne Bridge, that's a bit of a strange comparison to make. He's presumably being brought in for some of Adam Johnson's time, and AJ played quite a bit last season. City has absolutely nothing in the wingers department, so if Sinclair comes in and makes a strong claim, I think you'll see a lot more of him than you'd think.

If you're right about the second bolded bit, then you'll be right about the first bolded bit. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see him getting 90 minutes anytime soon. The Bridge case is a bit extreme, so let's say I'm concerned he won't get to play more than 25% of the minutes in high-profile competitions.

Edited by DLew On Roids, 22 August 2012 - 12:09 PM.

[Snakebauer007]

I just don't get the move for the player, he left Chelsea because he didnt think he'd get enough playing time.

As for City being interested? Idk, he clearly isnt at their standard. Maybe it's just because we can type of move.

[soxfan121]

I just don't get the move for the player, he left Chelsea because he didnt think he'd get enough playing time.

As for City being interested? Idk, he clearly isnt at their standard. Maybe it's just because we can type of move.

How many domestic home grown players does City have on their roster? Don't you still need 8 (and 4 trained at the club) for the Champions League?

[Snakebauer007]

How many domestic home grown players does City have on their roster? Don't you still need 8 (and 4 trained at the club) for the Champions League?

That's initially why I figured they were interested(and to an extent in Rodwell), but I have no idea.

[ethangl]

How many domestic home grown players does City have on their roster? Don't you still need 8 (and 4 trained at the club) for the Champions League?

They have... Hart, Richards, Lescott, Milner, Barry, A. Johnson, Rodwell, Boyata, Nimely and Michael Johnson. Abdul Razak will count in a year. I think Clichy might count too, he's 27 and has been in England since 2003. They have 2 more on loan and 2 more in the reserves.

Edit: there's also Guidetti, I'm not clear on what the deal is with youth players loaned out to clubs in other countries. So he might count too.

Edited by ethangl, 22 August 2012 - 05:39 PM.

[teddykgb]

But if you break that down, I think they're probably likely to lose A. Johnson to transfer and M. Johnson to alcoholism. Barry is getting old and Nimely may never make the team. Boyata they'd sell if they could find a buyer. Guidetti may stick around, supposedly on verge of signing a new deal, but if not he's likely to depart. I think the Sinclair move is as much about keeping up the English quota after they lose Adam Johnson as anything else.

[soxfan121]

They have... Hart, Richards, Lescott, Milner, Barry, A. Johnson, Rodwell, Boyata, Nimely and Michael Johnson. Abdul Razak will count in a year. I think Clichy might count too, he's 27 and has been in England since 2003. They have 2 more on loan and 2 more in the reserves.

Edit: there's also Guidetti, I'm not clear on what the deal is with youth players loaned out to clubs in other countries. So he might count too.

Thanks. And you're right about Clichy; he counts towards the 8 but not the 4 club-grown. Those are Hart, Richards, Boyata & Nimely. Milner, Lescott, Barry, Clichy, Rodwell gives them 9, if the Johnsons are, indeed, gone.

To the best of my understanding, the ECC roster includes only players currently at the club, meaning Guidetti and anyone else on loan, is ineligible to be included this season.

Going forward, this is one area to keep an eye, City fans. You have to have 4 club-grown players and (IMO) guys like Boyata & Nimely aren't good enough to be on such a roster when it will force Mancini to leave two more talented players out. So in future years, Guidetti probably slots into one of those spots. Finding one more talented player "Trained at the Club" would ease some roster concerns for a team (presumably) in the ECC for the next few seasons at least.