Topic: General Manchester City thread

[naka]

Speaking about the high-profile financial fair play (FFP) case, Pep Guardiola said: "I trust the people at the club and they are innocent until proven guilty. I have spoken to the chairmen and the CEO's and I know exactly what they did so I trust them. We are innocent today."

Just taken from the BBC.



interesting choice of words by pep.
"innocent til proven guilty"
"innocent today"

for me thats extremely important in that he is commenting on the present and has a fear that they will in the future be found guilty.

[royhendo]

I was in Manchester yesterday shopping.

I find it hilarious Mancs call anyone related to Liverpool as "Bin Dippers" when you see the zombified homeless dwelling people in the city centre.

I know the city has a shocking problem with those dangerous legal highs, but what a blight on the city when you see people leaning against lamposts and walls in such a zombiefied state in the mdidle of the day, even my 3 year old daughter was pointing at some of them when we were walking past them.

Worst homeless dwelling city i've seen is LA downtown in Skidrow and Manchester is on the brink of something like that.

Not being funny, but you're doing much the same as you're saying they do here. A blight on the city? Or folk with not much hope who maybe need a little help?

[idontknow]

Nah. Go for it mate if you're ready.

He's been waiting a long time, if it's "a chick" he's looking for. Anyway, hope it's special for him.

[24/7]

Not being funny, but you're doing much the same as you're saying they do here. A blight on the city? Or folk with not much hope who maybe need a little help?

This. Thanks for making that point at the end, Roy.

I've always believed that Manchester and Liverpool have a lot more in common than many are prepared to admit - and that includes sharing the same social issues that many other urban conurbations around the modern world are enduring. It's not a scouse or manc thing, it's not even a British or American thing - it's a "haves" and "have-nots" thing........and there appears to be an increasing number of people who need help - whether financial or spiritual.......

What's the saying? Don't hate the players. Hate the game. We all need to wake up.

Then again, I guess this is all just bantz, innit, bruv.

Count me out. Let's stick to the fuckin footie

[Tobelius]

Speaking about the high-profile financial fair play (FFP) case, Pep Guardiola said: "I trust the people at the club and they are innocent until proven guilty. I have spoken to the chairmen and the CEO's and I know exactly what they did so I trust them. We are innocent today."

Just taken from the BBC.

Well that's okay then. No need for UEFA to take this further. The owners have never lied, no sirree bob

Yeah riiiiight Pip. It's like Arsene Wenger never saw an Arsenal player foul anyone.Ever. 'I didn't see it',every time.

[MH41]

I made the mistake at glancing at the final Premier League table again last night. It really pi**ed me off again.
I had been so engrossed, and focused on the race for the Title with City, that I failed to really look at how far the rest were behind us.

25 points ahead of the next challengers! 25 points!!! We’ve been done big time here!

If City hadn’t blatantly cheated, with their FFP misdemeanours, the blatant deceiving of information, and arrogance towards every single Football authority, the threatening emails that have been unearthed etc it would have been the most one sided title victory in the history of the League.
We were that far ahead of the rest (and yes, I understand that City being there drove us on to accumulate that points total)

Knowing what we assume that the FA are well aware of (but are afraid to address), the FA should have done everything in their power in the last couple of games, to ‘ensure’ a Liverpool title. A dodgy red card, goal disallowed, penalty given. Whatever it took to ensure that justice prevailed. Yes, that sounds incredibly stupid, but knowing what they do know now, it could have been seen as a just and ‘fair’ punishment.

Instead, they’ll do nothing, stand by and watch them continue to cheat.
It is not a level playing field. I know most posters will say that we’ll beat them ‘fair and square’ soon, but will we? We should not have to keep up with a doped team, a team not playing 'fair'we should only have to try to beat a team that is playing by the same rules as everyone else. That is what competition is.

It really does irk me that we could be a CL final upset away from winning nothing this year. We have been absolutely superb. Any future punishment doesn’t really help us with this year’s league outcome.

[sms1986]

We'll at least be keeping up with them over the next few seasons, I'm confident that eventually we'll be dominating the league in the not too distant future.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Pleased our club have not been dragged into the whole thing about the song because if they had, it could have hugely overshadowed our preparation for the final.

[Walshy nMe®]

Reckon Pep will jump to Juve this summer as per the rumours?

[CraigDS]

Reckon Pep will jump to Juve this summer as per the rumours?

Would take a ridiculous fee to get City to release him, surely?

[S]

Reckon Pep will jump to Juve this summer as per the rumours?

Mourinho's going there surely?

[4pool]

New Manchester City Public Relations Officer

[TheTeflonJohn]

The funny thing for me is this PR drive by Abu Dhabi in cleaning up their image via football.

The more high profile they become in football via these cheating scandals the more they are highlighting what`s going on in their home countries.

I and many many other people would probably not know what`s going on in the gulf. Now I do because of their actions at Man City.

[sms1986]

Reckon Pep will jump to Juve this summer as per the rumours?

Would be good, we'll probably know more after the cup final and Serie A finishes for the season.

[Walshy nMe®]

Mourinho's going there surely?

Who knows mate, he has a strong connection with Inter though - but then he did manage both Chelsea and United so who knows.

[Dench57]

You'd think Pep would want to win the CL with City for the first time. He would then obviously be The Best Manager Of All Time (if he isn't already).

[S]

Who knows mate, he has a strong connection with Inter though - but then he did manage both Chelsea and United so who knows.

I don't think Mourinho would care about that in the slightest. If a club gives him a ton of transfer funds, he'll go there. Whoever they are.

[Statto Red]

Looking at Pep Guardiola's managerial history, seems 3 to 4 years is his limit at clubs, had 4 years as Barcelona manager[one year at Barcelona B manager before being given the Barcelona first team job] a year off, then 3 years at Bayern, it's his 3rd year at City, wouldn't surprise me if he decided to leave.

[wampa1]

Pep's come out with a "Sorry if you were offended..." statement re. the chanting and singing.

[harleydanger]

You don't have to dig far..

http://www.josimar.no/artikler/the-men-behind-manchester-city-the-dark-side/5040/

Great writing.

[CraigDS]

Pep's come out with a "Sorry if you were offended..." statement re. the chanting and singing.

So basically not an apology for it at all. Twat.

It was not to offend the people about what happened in Hillsborough or the guy over what happened against Roma.

You think, just for one second, you could imagine we try to offend about these tragedies of the Liverpool world? It's incredible.

We were happy for ourselves. If someone was offended, I'm sorry, I apologise, but it was never our intention. To win the Premier League is difficult against one incredible contender."

[Dim Glas]

Guardiola is just a drone.  As robotic as the football he coaches. He dosen't seem to have any kind of idea as to the human side of football.

[Medellin]

New Manchester City Public Relations Officer

 

[Kekule]

So basically not an apology for it at all. Twat.

Sounds like he’s fishing for an apology himself.  He’s essentially just said “We’re offended that people could think these horrible things about us”.

They just keep digging.

[Jshooters]

Sounds like he’s fishing for an apology himself.  He’s essentially just said “We’re offended that people could think these horrible things about us”.

They just keep digging.

That's how I read it too....complete indignation on his part

[RedMichelFerri]

That bald twat is as disgraceful sa that club. That's why I admire managers like Rafa, Klopp and ancelotti.

[S]

Guardiola is just a drone.  As robotic as the football he coaches. He dosen't seem to have any kind of idea as to the human side of football.

He'll go down as one of the best managers ever, if he isn't already.

I agree with your sentiment though. His teams are somewhat robotic in their unrelenting efficiency. This City side from the past two seasons is probably the strongest in Premier League history. Yet I'd rather watch Arsenal around 2002-2004 or (though it pains me to say it) United from 2006-2009. I don't think Guardiola's brand of football is as exciting as other champions from previous seasons.

[Skeeve]

The funny thing for me is this PR drive by Abu Dhabi in cleaning up their image via football.

The more high profile they become in football via these cheating scandals the more they are highlighting what`s going on in their home countries.

I and many many other people would probably not know what`s going on in the gulf. Now I do because of their actions at Man City.

The weird thing is that if they had only spent stupid amounts in the first few years and then dialed it right back rather than continuing to do so and trying to hide the scope of it, they could have presented city as being more of an underdog story with their lottery win merely helping them catch up to the established sides and it would have been far more beneficial to them on the pr side of things than buying a few more league titles.

[S]

With regards to Guardiola's apology, it's important to remember that he's not exactly fluent in the language. It's probably not a good idea to pick apart his sentences word for word because he does tend to use odd phrases and generally mix up sentences quite often. The same is true of many foreign coaches.

However, I do agree that it's still not what's needed. The club themselves need to acknowledge this incident.

[Peabee]

That video of Mansour's brother, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, torturing that guy with the help of uniformed Abu Dhabi police is utterly surreal.

The reason that Sheikh Issa is relevant again is because of what happened after that tape was released.

Issa went to court. And of course, he was found innocent. The brothers who released the tape were convicted, in the same sitting, of blackmail in absentia.

These are the expectations of what the law is for and how courts should work when this family breaks the law. The interests of that family and the interests of the state are the same thing: they’re absolute rulers, and anything they do is automatically legal.

Every time you read something from Manchester City talking about courts and culpability, remember what ‘guilt’ means for them and what courts are for. How even torture is legal if it's them doing the torturing. Weird sponsorship is nothing.

That’s the same for the Queen in the U.K., but she decides to act within the law. The U.K. could easily end up with a monarch that decides not to.

[Johns_Barn]

That doesn't surprise me. Everywhere you go you will see Liverpool and United tops, but apart from that kid, I can't even recall the last time I saw a 'City' top in this country. Even when I've had the misfortune to travel through Manchester I've seen United tops but no 'City'. When I went to Barbados last November it was all Liverpool, United and, strangely given how racist an entity they are, Chelsea. Maybe the London connection more than anything else? I only saw one ADFC top on a local who was going into a bar to watch them on the big screen.

For anyone to suggest that ADFC could shift anything like the amount of kit the big clubs can shift is delusional. The only way would be for the sheikh to buy a million of them for himself every season. Maybe he could give them to his slaves to wear?

They had top drawer players from the African continent. You'd see quite a lot in Nigeria (this is going back about a decade), Arsenal & the Mancs. Not sure I remember seeing any LFC.. Though I wonder if that will change now?

[jillcwhomever]

The reason City were such an easy mark for Abu Dhabi, is because it was a fanbase that had been starved of success for years and riven with jealousy of their local rivals.
AD knew this would make them more likely to turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses and dodgy accounting, so long as they delivered them some silverware. Look at the reaction of City fans to the UEFA investigation as an example. It's blinkered beyond belief. You even have City fans defending the regime and putting their abhorrent views and methods down to 'cultural differences'.

Never mind the domination in football terms, one of the worst aspects of their ownership of City has been this introduction of Trump-esque toxicity to English football. Combine that with the tribal nature of football fandom, and you have a very nasty mix, that does the game no favours.

Maybe I'm deluded, but I'd like to think that if LFC was ever taken over by owners like that, there would be a much greater kickback and a prolonged campaign to get them out.

Miguel Delaney in the Indo:

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/manchester-city-vs-watford-fa-cup-final-premier-league-treble-pep-guardiola-abu-dhabi-a8917671.html

I really hope this is the start of more sporting journalists asking question of this awful regime behind City. It really is extremely disappointing how they have been allowed into English football sadly its proof that if you have enough money, people will only see what they want too. But now that the enquiry is also being seriously looked at, hopefully City's owners will find more and more pressure being inserted around their dealings.

[drmick]

That’s the same for the Queen in the U.K., but she decides to act within the law. The U.K. could easily end up with a monarch that decides not to.

Wait! If the Duke of Edinburgh had have killed somebody with his driving then no charges could be brought?

[S]

A good, short article from Jonathan Wilson. "It's possible to both admire Man City's play and still properly acknowledge the club's alleged off-field misdeeds".

First couple of paragraphs really do convey how strange the situation at City is.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/05/17/manchester-city-success-ownership-controversy-uefa-investigation?utm_source=twitter.com&xid=socialflow_twitter_si&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=si-soccer

[Reds r coming up the hill]

Miguel Delaney in the Indo:

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/manchester-city-vs-watford-fa-cup-final-premier-league-treble-pep-guardiola-abu-dhabi-a8917671.html
[/quote]

I think this is a very good read. If more journos would report in-depth like this then there is a chance public opinion would turn on the AD child traffic regime, Delaney in the article doesn’t fall for any of the plaudits for the ““best team ever”, but highlights an unfair playing field that the only expected outcomes should be for City to win everything they enter due to the amount of petro dollars Injected, the lies and cheating they’ve gotten away with, never mind their awful human rights record.

If Football writers could just report with an asterisk and an attachment beside anything that City win ...
anyway in the meantime it would be nice if Watford perform the miracle needed to beat a 2 billion pound team, and Monday morning for pip to jump ship after finding out in shock horror that these Sheiks shook Pep down, pulled his cardigan over his eyes, revealing to us all they are alleged corrupt child traffickers and praise the lord standing up for his precious morals as soon as he finds out, poor Pepo had no idea not an inkling not a yellow ribbon f**king idea of what was going on, at least not yesterday, today or tomorrow but possibly Sunday night or more likely a Monday morning Epiphany.

You wouldn’t have enough yellow ribbons pepo,  not enough by any measure.

[Rush 82]

So basically not an apology for it at all. Twat.

Notable by its omission - no issue with celebrating injuring a fellow professional

[Phil M]

Would love Watford to twat them all over the park, not gonna happen but can see them making a game of it.

[Johns_Barn]

And a place where lots of people on this board like to spend their money.


I would sooner buy a United season ticket that sample that oppressive part of out world.

So, much this. It shows the depth of cognitive dissonance that folk love to be seen out there. Ive so far resisted attending any weddings that take place there.

[Johns_Barn]

As an owner of a successful football club, one needs to investment in the squad, team, stadium, social engagements.

Instead, the H&G pawned Liverpool Football Club for money that they certainly had their eyes upon, lied to the fans and started stripping the club of its players. And added to that, installed an average manager who invested in average players. So I think we were well within our right to protest.

But delivering success is one thing. Buying success is another. Ask any genuine LFC fan you know what they would prefer. And we would always want to earn the success. We earned it in the 70s and 80s. We werent controlled by uncle Scrooge and his 100 storeys of gold coin vault. We invested wisely and prudently. The results speak for themselves.

If I intend on losing my virginity, I would rather pickup a chick at a bar, than go to a prostitute.

This is another reason we are hated.

[rocco]

Ban them from European Football and the league will be even easier for them

I’d rather a long transfer ban to be honest