Football 2024-25. Pep’s last season?

Was going to post the same, one man team!?! Maybe stick Gvardiol up front, seems better at finishing than defending, Ben Doak gave him a torrid time the other week for Scotland. Gundogan looks even slower than Casemiro. It’s mad how things change in a few games.

Doris must still be out celebrating after shrews turned over Birmingham at lunchtime.  Did Wrexham a big favour but Wycombe are on fire.

Reading are up to 8th in the only league that matters. A giant is stirring once again.

City were woeful, how can losing one player, no matter how good he is, have such a dire effect.

De Bruyne, Walker, Grealish, Doku, Rodri, Bobb and Akanji injured for this one. Akanji was only just coming back and pulled up in the warm up. Dias and Stones only just back from injury too. I wouldn’t say it was the bare bones, but quite disruptive to the normal City way of defending and playing forward.

Will be interesting to see how many plastic fans we shed during this ‘blip’. I think the old me who watched them lose at Wycombe on a wet Wednesday night would still take this level, to be honest.

New thread title needed

The way results are going maybe don’t rush that just yet.

Grealish, Doku and Bibb are squad players really though, aren’t they? Walker’s a starter but signs his pace is starting to go. De Bruyne has missed loads of games over the past few seasons, I don’t think city can count on him playing week in week out any more.

Spurs had as many key players out, five teenagers on the bench and won 4-0.

City obviously have the quality to turn it round, away at anfield next, wouldn’t be surprised if they win.

Grealish, Doku and Bibb are squad players really though, aren’t they?

Grealish is a £100 million ‘squad’ player?

Anyway… I eagerly await the adventurous, free-flowing and creative football our new manager has instilled in the squad in the half an hour since he arrived and I’m not at all concerned about him trying to play 3 at the back

Doku and Akanji are almost as significant as Rodri, especially as Gundogan’s level has clearly fallen off a cliff since his move away. No complaints though, Spurs turned up at home and took advantage. If we don’t get spanked at Anfield, it will be a missed opportunity for them. Eventually someone will have to hold onto their Christmas lead in the season run-in.

As for United, let’s see what the latest revolution brings.

I saw the score at half time and thought I’d watch the 2nd half.

I expected to see 3-2 or 4-2 score line tbh.

Man City had 23 shots and couldn’t score.

Akanji, yes. Doku? Disagree – very inconsistent. Unbelievable to think he was bought when they had Palmer.

Just put 5Live on in the background. It’s been a hell of a season so far.

Cooper sacked. Didn’t think he’d be the first although Leicester were pretty gutless against Chelsea. He was also whining a lot.

Leicester fans also disliked the style after Maresca. Not a great squad really, still reliant on old Steptoe up front for goals.

Surprised to Cooper go. At the end of the season no matter who else is in charge I don’t think they’ll be any higher up the table.

As for Mam City they’re having one of those spells they haven’t had in recent years. They’ll get a couple of players back and come good. The standard they’ve set over the past few years has been ridiculous.

Doris must still be out celebrating after shrews turned over Birmingham at lunchtime.

Haha yes! All the way up to 2nd from bottom!

Tbf that one has a special resonance for me. Around 30 years ago I got a Saturday job selling programs at the ground. My first match was against Birmingham city. The bloke who ran the operation handed me a float, a bag of programs, and sent me, an 8 stone twiglet, off to the away entrance with the words “Scum of the earth, Blues fans”.  I was promptly swarmed around by Blues fans who stole all my change. I didn’t make much money that day and have not had the highest opinion of City ever since!

Oh god, no! The dream start!

It’s the hope that kills you

Some start for the new United messiah!

It’s going even worse than I feared.

You were saying….?

I’m seeing the words ‘94th minute Ipswich winner’

Onana had a shaky start at United but he pulls off some great saves.

I’m seeing the words ‘94th minute Ipswich winner

The way we’ve been playing I was expecting it the other way round.

Sounds like it was a good match and I should be happy with a draw but maybe I’m getting greedy.

I’m seeing the words ‘94th minute Ipswich winner

You were playing the team who have lost the most points from winning positions in the league, swdan and I were definitely expecting it to go the other way!

The bits I heard on the radio made it sound a good game that could have gone either way, looking forward to the highlights later.

Anyway, I have to look forward to all the Forest fans laughing at Steve Cooper in work tomorrow…

Leeds managed to win the game so quickly after throwing it away that I was still fuming at full time!

Apparently every team with an 8 points lead before that festival has gone on to win the title. Would also take them level with ManU.

It can/might turn around quickly. Arsenal have a good looking run of fixtures coming up and with Odegaard back I think they’ll kick on. Liverpool have Madrid, City at home, then Everton and Newcastle away in the league. Tough run!

Apparently every team with an 8 points lead before that festival has gone on to win the title.

8 point lead before Christmas or at Christmas? Even recent PL history shows that leading by 8 at Christmas is no guarantee of the title, and both Arsenal and Man Utd have dealt with much bigger deficits before.

There was a 10 point swing between Arsenal and City last season post-Christmas, all these teams know what City can do in the run-in, although I’m not sure that’s going to be the case this season.

I am a bit ambivalent about city winning the PL this year. I want us to win every game we play when we are playing, but I am also aware that winning the PL shouldn’t be easy it shouldn’t be a one team league, winning should feel special, so I can see it being better for the league if we don’t win, it is meant to be the most difficult league to win that becomes a bit of a false claim if city just keep rolling over the league.

As a City fan – all I look for every season is the 40 points we’re not getting relegated cushion.

This season 100 points might not be enough to avoid it…

Tend to agree with this view, too many titles leads to entitlement, which is the sort of thing that has plagued Man U since Fergie left. It’s clear that City need a period of renewal, with pivotal players like Silva and De Bruyne starting to wane, and that’s perhaps why Guardiola has decided to do at least one more season.

Fair play to Pep for signing for another two seasons, as you say with top players on the wane and Begeirstein leaving, I’d thought he’d go too. But obviously he’s up for the challenge of a bit of a rebuild.

8 point lead before Christmas or at Christmas? Even recent PL history shows that leading by 8 at Christmas is no guarantee of the title, and both Arsenal and Man Utd have dealt with much bigger deficits before.

It was said on match of the day. Every team with an 8 point lead after the crimbo period/start of the new year have won the title:

ManU 93-94

ManU 00-01

Chelsea 05-06

City 17-18

Liverpool 19-20

It was said on match of the day. Every team with an 8 point lead after the crimbo period/start of the new year have won the title:

Except Newcastle….

Except Newcastle….

gosh yes. Letter to Points of View coming up.

Every team with an 8 point lead after the crimbo period/start of the new year have won the title:

Oh ISWYM, exactly an 8 point lead…and only over second place. 20/21 City were eight points back at Christmas, but they were also in eighth place, so don’t qualify for this stat.

Tbf that one has a special resonance for me. Around 30 years ago I got a Saturday job selling programs at the ground. My first match was against Birmingham city. The bloke who ran the operation handed me a float, a bag of programs, and sent me, an 8 stone twiglet, off to the away entrance with the words “Scum of the earth, Blues fans”.  I was promptly swarmed around by Blues fans who stole all my change. I didn’t make much money that day and have not had the highest opinion of City ever since!

If it’s any consolation, there’s a lot of Blues fans I’m not mad keen on…. Fair play to you for the win last Saturday, I wasn’t expecting that. 🙂

Well for the first time in a long I am not looking forward to a top of the table clash – genuinely think we could be on the wrong end of a thrashing at the when we play Liverpool – the capitulation last night was almost ManUtdesque…

I think you’ll find that, awful though we are, the benchmark for capitulations is still Spurs. We don’t yet have our own adjective 😀

It should be a belter of a game this weekend though. Having said that, as everyone is expecting a goalfest, it’ll no doubt end up as a cagey nil nil

Comical defending from Man City last night. Was Ederson on his way to the dressing room for the 3rd?? He had defenders coming in to cover him!

Will be interesting to see how many plastic fans we shed during this ‘blip’. 

Apparently there were loads of empty seats last night?

Grealish is a £100 million ‘squad’ player?

Thats Man City! Mental money for a pretty average player…