schalke were totally dominated but credit it to them they did have to beat other teams to get there, neuer did look unbeatable in the first leg
LOL @ group G. They should be called the group of death instead. As in the death of coverage. I don't really care who wins the CL this season as long as it's not Barca or United. I don't mind City, save for the classless Nasri. Not a day into his new team and he's already talking **** about Arsenal fans.
I'll give you Barcelona, but City are up there. Balotelli, Toure, De Jong plus their wealth of English talent (which might be overrated)... Koscielny is fine as a backup CD. Arsenal need technically gifted midfielders who can create and take on defenses and Mata fits that mold. If you're going to emulate Barcelona, then keeping possession is key. All their other issues (ie passing too much around the box) can be worked out afterwards. I also think they'll stick with the $10m Bendter as backup striker, however wasteful he may be.
Where are Milan's teams deeper than City? Don't see it, even their starting 11 aren't top notch international. Both aging, too. http://eurorivals.net/squad/inter-milan.html http://eurorivals.net/squad/ac-milan.html These teams ain't in the top category of European Football, comparing their roster to Man City is bs. City's depth chart is unbelievable: http://eurorivals.net/squad/man-city.html ... Back to topic: Group A really is a killer, hope Bayern have to be excellent on D to advance, Villareal, Napoli and City are extremely dangerous. Think City and Bayern will advance.
I think City could be up there with Barca and Real in terms of talent... now if they only can function as a cohesive unit. They're a tier below Barca and Real, especially Barca, but they could really be a team that puts fears in defenders' hearts. Too bad this Mancini guy is in charge.
why is this not in the Football sub-forum? I blame ATW hopefully we dont see another two gay ass games b/t Barca and Real.
First let's make sure we read thoroughly. Nowhere did I say the Milan teams had deeper teams than City. What I did say was that they would disagree that City had the deepest team in Europe because, I feel, once could say that both are equally as deep as City. Not necessarily possessing deeper teams but on the same level in terms of squad depth. 1) Age doesn't preclude a squad from being top-notch. 2) Top notch international? What pre-tell would be your definition of that because I see no reason to believe Milan and Inter don't have a 1st team squad with some "top notch international's" just like Citeh. City's depth is nice but not unbelievable and to say " These teams ain't in the top category of European Football, comparing their roster to Man City is bs." isn't quite sharp. Let's look at the 1st eleven and the 5 subs on the bench and compare them with the squads on both Milan teams. (Not including Tevez because odds are he'll be on another team[Inter] by Christmas, Kolo-suspension, and poor Inter, Eto'o leaving makes them weaker but "that's how futbol go". ) Man. ****ty Milan Inter 1) Hart / Abbiati / Julio Cesar 2) Richards / Abate / Chivu 3) Kompany / Nesta / Samuel 4) Lescott / Silva / Lucio 5) Kolarov / Zambrotta / Motta 6) Barry / MVBommel / Stankovic 7) Toure / Gattuso / Zanetti 8) Nasri / Seedorf / Cambiasso 9) Silva / Boateng / Sneijder 10) Aguero / Robinho / Pazzini 11) Dzeko / Zlatan / Milito Subs Taylor / Roma/Amelia / Castellazi De Jong / Taiwo / Maicon Milner / Mexes / Coutinho Bridge-Clichy / Ambrosini-Flamini-Emanuelson / Obi SWP/Johnson / Cassano / Muntari Balotelli/Roque / Pato / Pandev The players that one wouldn't consider "top notch internationals" on the teams would be: City-Richards, Lescott, Barry,(keep in mind w/the first three names that I'm a 3Lions supporter) Taylor, Milner, Bridge/Clichy, SWP, Balotelli. (AJohnson is still an inconsistent young talent hence his appearance on the City bench frequently and Roque is done). Milan-Abbate, Roma, Flamini/Emanuelson. (Yes Nesta, Zambrotta, Gattuso and Seedorf are up in age but to believe they still aren't quality top notch players is silly in my opinion). Inter- Castellazi, Coutinho(kind of like AJohnson's situation re. inconsistence), you may be tempted to put Joel Obi in this section but he's as consistent as you'd want a young player to be. City do not have a deeper squad than Milan or Inter in my opinion.
You'll give me Barca but not Real Madrid??? Anyway, you can have a gander at my comparison with the Milan teams. Koscielny is tolerable as a backup CB yes and one could say same for Djourou but ideally you wouldn't even want Kos to be the 1st CB off the bench imho. Mata is a primarily a winger but has been adept in the center for Valencia. He won't be playing in the center with Chelsea. Arsenal may have used him in the center but I'd be more angry if I were an Arsenal fan and they lost out on Hazard or M'vila. I have no doubt they'll stick with Bendtner. That's not in question because that's how Voyeur operates but that's the problem right there. They shouldn't be sticking with him. Unfortunately, right now the issues at the back and midfield are more pressing but if/once they sort that out now/winter window, Arsenal fans will then focus on the waste baskets up front and get Voyeur to do something. I really think he won't be managing the Gunners by the time the 2013-14 season starts. Some call me crazy for saying that but I believe it. No way he gets pressured to resign this season but come the end of next season and more of the same(especially another trophyless season) he may finally stop being stubborn and step away from Emirates.
On another note, Barca have just won the Supercup and it got me thinking. Cesc won 1 trophy during his 8 years at Arsenal. With Barcelona for two weeks and he's won two.(Not including Gamper) Great start for him with that beast of a team.
And the great thing is you won't hear one negative thing about Arsenal from him. Not one. Whereas Nasri hasn't even played a game and already thrown the fans under the bus.
You dismissing me but calling them Citeh and Sh..ty while you name yourself after an Italian brand makes you look good as an objective observer? I posted the depth chart of all teams and if you go through the positions I don't see a way how one can argue that Milan or Inter can match City's starting 11 or their bench. Milan or Inter would overspend to get City bench guys like Milner, Balotelli, Johnson, etc. You won't find an expert who doesn't have City as contenders for all titles this season, they've shown glimpses of greatness vs. ManU and for the last few months. Even Milan fans admit their midfield is where they lose games and the reason why they can't compete vs. good teams. When you have , Van Bommel, Seedorf, Gattuso, Zambrotta and Nesta as key players, you know it doesn't look good vs. power houses like Barca, Madrid, City, Bayern, ManU, ... These guys simply can't compete with the youngsters anymore. Only great players: Pato, Robinho(garbage in Copa), Boateng. Inter with Zanetti, Cambiasso, Pazzini, an aging Lucio, Cesar bein mediocre since winning CL. Sneijder, Milito, Maicon and Stankovic are the only guys you can consider great. Now tell me how can you honestly say they are on par with City? Hart, Richards, Bridge, Kompany, Kolarov, Glichy, Kolo, Milner, Wright-Philipps, Johnson, Nasri, Silva, De Jong, Toure, Balotelli, Aguero, Dzeko, Tevez. City wins by a landslide.
Are you high? I miss the argument you're making with your first statement. 1. WTF does my moniker on here have to do with my comments about the Eastlands team? Do you think I'm a fan of the Milan teams and Italian items hence I'd be biased towards them? This is why I say READ. I mentioned in my post above that I am a THREE LIONS fan. Do you know who the THREE LIONS are???? I've mentioned in tons of Footy posts on this forum in the past that I'm a Man. United supporter. In that respect I'm biased towards just about any team over City but I'm not high enough to believe we have a more talented team than City. We have a good and solid team but City have more talent at more positions than we do. I'm not that biased. 2. You obviously don't follow much Football in England. "Citeh" is how the Man. City fans pronounce their team's name, as in " Man Citeh". It's not derogatory. Now my calling them $hitty is meant to be derogatory and I make no apologies for that because I support their biggest rivals. 3. My moniker is based on a nickname given to me some years ago as opposed to a love for an Italian brand because contrary to what you may believe, I prefer other auto makers to the Italian auto maker that you claim I've affixed myself to and leaves me showing bias on a Basketball team's forum in a general thread about a Futbol team. Once again, you obviously don't follow much English footy if you seriously believe the Milan teams would overspend for Milner or Adam Johnson. You seriously believe Adam Johnson is a better player than some of the youngsters that have broken through on the Milan teams?(More so Inter but Milan has a few). I won't even waste any lines on here discussing Milner but if you rate him as high as it appears you do then it's a waste of time even reading your Footy opinions. Last time I checked didn't Inter sell Balo for €21 to Man. City??? You really think the overrated hothead would place Zlatan or Pato on the bench if he moved to Milan? Don't make me laugh. I hope this has nothing to do with your youth because your arguments are all over the place and it makes one wonder what the heck you're reading. You say WHERE did I say Man. City aren't contenders for titles(I won't say all) this season??? No one, definitely not me, a Man. UTD fan, has said " No, City haven't shown glimpses of greatness against us and other teams over the last year or so". They've become our most dangerous opponent. I and many others rate them more dangerous to our title prospects than Chelski or Liverpool(Arsenal doesn't even deserve to be mentioned). Either way that's beside the point as to stronger squads. You really believe a midfield with MVBommel, Seedorf, Gattuso and a defense of Zambrotta and Nesta can't tame Bayern Munich or Man. Utd??? O-k. Sure. I don't believe in a European tie that they'd be able to beat Barca or Madrid but I never said they had a stronger team than Barca or Madrid. I said they had as strong a squad as City, a team that doesn't have as strong a squad(depth and talent wise) as Barca or Madrid. What does Robinho being "garbage" in the Copa America have to do with anything? Do you want me to run down the list of Argentinan and Brazilian players that were horrendous in the Copa America??? I don't think that impacts their standing on their club teams. Julio Cesar, for all his average play the past two years can still be considered one of the great keepers in the world today and if he were for sale, I'm pretty sure would fetch a pretty penny from most major teams in Europe that need a keeper. Lucio is aging, ok, so what? Doesn't prevent him from being considered a great player. You toss Zanetti to the side like he's worthless. Have you watched Zanetti in the past year or in the past 15 years? When you mention SWP and Wayne Bridge on your team list, I just get a sense of the despair that other teams feel when they spot those names on the team sheet and how they must feel the need to attack on opposing wings than where SWP and Bridgey are stationed. Dare I even get to the greatness that is James "head down, run forward" Milner. Then again, there are certain Milan and Inter players that I could say the same about and other teams eagerly anticipate them being on the team sheet. You can retype the names on the team sheet all you want but I have the names already up on my earlier post and the comparison is right there. I maintain, City doesn't have a deeper or stronger team than Milan or Inter. It's no landslide victory for City or any of the Milan teams. I feel they're on equal footing.
Messi is already putting incredible numbers.. 4 goals and 3 assists in 3 games and against heavy competition ( Real Madrid and Porto). Good for Fabregas winning trophies and scoring is his first weeks it should help his confidence. Hopefully Alexis will do the same soon. I have doubts about our back four though, Puyol ain't getting younger or healthier for that matter and now Pique is out for a few weeks. Forca Barca
True talk man. Here's a line I lifted from someone. "In honour of Cesc Fabregas leaving Arsenal & winning 3 trophies in 2 weeks with Barcelona, May God remove you from your Arsenal and take you to the Barcelona of your life where victory is always sure. Can I get an Amen?"
Ferrari you needin too much lines for small, not fact-based content and repeatin yourself. 1. Basically you can admit you don't like City and their players and therefore can not argue 100% unbiased. 2. Lettin Balotelli go had nothing to do with his talent but his struggles with the management, other players and the fans.v If he was white and not a psycho he had potential as their franchise player. 3. When I'm saying City are contenders for all titles I relate that to their starting 11 and bench, conclusion is Milan and Inter aren't favourites for any itnernational title. What part of that doesn't make sense? Tell me, please, because you always go out but dismiss points but don't actually reply to thoughts you don't like. 4. Everyone believes Milan's midfield can't compete with the best teams in the world, yes that incldues Bayern, ManU, City, ... They never looked good against high pressure teams(Tottenham last year, dismissin that?) 5. Bein garbage in the Copa of course has to do a bit with it as Robinho had mediocre performances too often with Milan, too. And his form right now doesn't seem anywhere fitting his potential. 6. Cesar can't really be called one of the great keepers looking at his past season and CL performances, you can exploit him with long shots and everybody knows this. Lucio is aging and you can see it on the pitch, again, why is that wrong? In a weak Italian league that might not be exploited as much as in the top leagues. 7. I mention like 15 players and all you come up with are Bridge and Milner and that is your whole argument about theit depth? Two players, really? 8. Yes you have some names, but they can be all dismissed talent-wise. 9. Please don't reply with 100+ sentences again if you don't have much to say.
City definitely settin a mark with that 5-1 vs. Tottenham, fantastic performance. Really one of the most gifted teams on offense with Dzeko, Aguero, Silva, ... ManU 3-1 right now vs. Arsenal, hope Gunners can buy some stars before window closes.
